Dear Family and friends,
I have received so many emails and calls that I thought it would be best to respond in this way. First, I must thank all of you who contacted us, your thoughts and concerns have helped us through the last week as we try to cope with what has happened. This is not the way that we hoped Cedar Rapids would reach the international news.
Although we no longer own a home in Cedar Rapids, we still had our antique shop there. On Wed. they came and told us that we needed to evacuate the antique mall. Fortunately, Ken was in the states to get Conner settled for the summer. They told us to expect a river crest of 22 feet. That would have put 1-2 feet of water in the shop. Ken took out most of our small items and then due to time he stacked up the rest and left. Unfortunately they were a little off in their projections and the river crested at 32 feet,..putting 12 feet of water in the shop and washing most things away. We were lucky in that we got some things out. Some of our dealers got nothing out. At the current time, Ken is waiting for the water to go down so that he can go in and see if anything is left.
We also had all of our family valuables in a safety deposit box and we are waiting to find out if the seal on the vault held against the 15 feet of water that was in the bank. This will be the hardest to deal with.
At times like this, a person tries to comfort themselves with thoughts of what they didn't loose,... family, friends, and for us a home. At other times I get very angry. Why didn't they know better what the depth would be? Why is there no money to help small businesses rebuilt? (FEMA and the government only gives loans,..who is going to loan our 83 year old dealer money to rebuilt her business? She lost everything) Is the 21 billion that George Bush wants to give to Afghanistan to rebuilt a "loan"? I have lots of time to be angry as I am stuck here alone in the Czech Republic while Ken is in the US trying to figure out where and how to store what we did get out and more importantly how to take a shower in the rain!
It will be at least a week before we know anything more. For right now it is clear that the antique shop is gone. I'm not even sure if it can be rebuilt or if the owner of the building will want to. Those are all old buildings down in Czech Village and I am afraid that a week and a half under water may do too much damage. We have put almost ten years into building up the area as a tourist location. The National Czech and Slovak Museum at the end of the street had only about 8 feet of water in it as it is on a slight hill. They lost a lot. The African American Museum saved very little. The public library was almost completely under water. Some of the decisions about the future are out of our control,...just like the flood was.
My family all live far enough away from the water that they are fine although living with rationed water and the numbness that follows a disaster like this. My mother, who has put a lot of time and effort into the Czech Museum and Czech Heritage is devastated. But in true Midwest fashion, she is organizing volunteers to clean the museum when they can get in.
I will continue to post updates on our blog For pictures of the flooding, check out "Gazette on line", it seems to have the best coverage.
For right now we must wait and hope,....
Pam and Ken
I have received so many emails and calls that I thought it would be best to respond in this way. First, I must thank all of you who contacted us, your thoughts and concerns have helped us through the last week as we try to cope with what has happened. This is not the way that we hoped Cedar Rapids would reach the international news.
Although we no longer own a home in Cedar Rapids, we still had our antique shop there. On Wed. they came and told us that we needed to evacuate the antique mall. Fortunately, Ken was in the states to get Conner settled for the summer. They told us to expect a river crest of 22 feet. That would have put 1-2 feet of water in the shop. Ken took out most of our small items and then due to time he stacked up the rest and left. Unfortunately they were a little off in their projections and the river crested at 32 feet,..putting 12 feet of water in the shop and washing most things away. We were lucky in that we got some things out. Some of our dealers got nothing out. At the current time, Ken is waiting for the water to go down so that he can go in and see if anything is left.
We also had all of our family valuables in a safety deposit box and we are waiting to find out if the seal on the vault held against the 15 feet of water that was in the bank. This will be the hardest to deal with.
At times like this, a person tries to comfort themselves with thoughts of what they didn't loose,... family, friends, and for us a home. At other times I get very angry. Why didn't they know better what the depth would be? Why is there no money to help small businesses rebuilt? (FEMA and the government only gives loans,..who is going to loan our 83 year old dealer money to rebuilt her business? She lost everything) Is the 21 billion that George Bush wants to give to Afghanistan to rebuilt a "loan"? I have lots of time to be angry as I am stuck here alone in the Czech Republic while Ken is in the US trying to figure out where and how to store what we did get out and more importantly how to take a shower in the rain!
It will be at least a week before we know anything more. For right now it is clear that the antique shop is gone. I'm not even sure if it can be rebuilt or if the owner of the building will want to. Those are all old buildings down in Czech Village and I am afraid that a week and a half under water may do too much damage. We have put almost ten years into building up the area as a tourist location. The National Czech and Slovak Museum at the end of the street had only about 8 feet of water in it as it is on a slight hill. They lost a lot. The African American Museum saved very little. The public library was almost completely under water. Some of the decisions about the future are out of our control,...just like the flood was.
My family all live far enough away from the water that they are fine although living with rationed water and the numbness that follows a disaster like this. My mother, who has put a lot of time and effort into the Czech Museum and Czech Heritage is devastated. But in true Midwest fashion, she is organizing volunteers to clean the museum when they can get in.
I will continue to post updates on our blog For pictures of the flooding, check out "Gazette on line", it seems to have the best coverage.
For right now we must wait and hope,....
Pam and Ken
1 comment:
In 2007 Ken and Pam invited folks to stay at the "Lewis Hotel". If that offer is still open Sandy and I would love to come visit for our 25th anniversary in June of 2009. Send me an email.
Al
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