TEOTWAWKI
#60:Banana Slug -Islands in the Flood
“What are those Joshua?” Cody asked Joshua in his best ‘little boy’ voice. Joshua knew better than to be annoyed. Cody was some shook up. They both were. The surveillance alarm had gone off during Cody’s watch, this time rather than Carl’s. They both recalled what happened last time it sounded. Cody had immediately notified Joshua. The furtherest of the “long hunters” on the leading edge in their direction of travel had discovered something interesting.
“Those are farm houses that have levee’s erected around them. ” Joshua looked at Cody with one eye. He knew about the little boy voice and didn’t comment.
Cody grinned sheepishly. He was nervous but curious as a cat.
Joshua said “I think we better tell someone about this don’t you?”
“I did tell someone.” Cody said “I told a grown up. That would be you. I’m just a helpless little boy.”
It was only by dent of great effort that Joshua did NOT roll his eyes. It was a near run thing though, a damn near run thing. “You know that little boy act is getting to be ‘real sweet’“
“But I AM a little boy.” Cody said . In truth he was. His next birth day was months away. He STILL wouldn’t be a teenager.
“Not mentally you’re not “ Joshua said
“That might be true. “ Cody said “So which is less threatening to adults? A little boy that acts like a little boy or a little boy that acts like a thirty year old man?”
Joshua was quite for a moment. Then he said “Good point. Very good point.”
Joshua sent a priority text to Shelby AND the Dragon Lady.
flood survivors located.
.
on my way.
on my way.
Shelby arrived quickly with the Dragon Lady not far behind. Shelby took charge. He manipulated the scene in question and did a few other things to the VR of which neither Joshua or Cody had any clue about how to do. Cody was so jealous. “Hmmm. It doesn’t look like there’s an immediate crisis. They’re be OK in the short term. They’re goners in the long term though. The water has a long way to go yet before it stops rising. They’ll be flooded out. There’s no way of getting around that.”
Joshua remembered being thrown from his pickup high above the water off of a bridge and falling downward only to be skewered on a broken tree branch. He remembered a time when he could certainly could have used some help or he would have died. Joshua was usually reticent and didn’t say much to anyone other than Cody but this time he took a chance.
“I bet I know just the old Kraken that will help them don’t I?” he said.
The Dragon Lady smiled. “We do indeed.”
Shelby grunted and mumbled something like “I can’t get no respect,” while he mentally fiddled with this and that.
“Ok, I got a handle on it. We lucked out. We have tons of time. Such might have NOT have been the case though.” He said turning to look at Cody and Josh. “You two did excellent work. I’m proud of the both of you.”
Chad had just walked in and heard the tail end of the conversation. Shelby turned on him and pointed an accusing finger.
“Your mission. Should you decide to accept it, is to prepare the scooper-poopers.” He said “After all you did invent the damn things. Prepare them for long range high speed deployment, install a JATO equivalent up their butt or something if that’s what it takes, they need to swim faster. Wilbur and Cody might help, and Carl.”
Chad raised an eyebrow “High speed?”
Shelby was annoyed “High speed for them anyway.”
Cody was fairly bouncing on the balls of his feet. Joshua raised his eyebrows. The Dragon Lady was smiling.
“Scooper-Poopers?”
scooper pooper pic
In 2011 the river had flooded. At that time it had been called the worst flood since 1927, sadly enough current flood was much worse, ten times worse maybe or more.
In 2011 many of the farmers had to stand up on their own two hind legs and look out for their own selves. No one else was going to do it, least of all the various taxing agencies of the federal and state governments. They were concerned with the cities. Those farmers used their own equipment and labor. Their own tractors, trucks, backhoes, and front end loaders to build dikes around their homes and properties. Some, if not many, were successful at keeping the flood waters at bay. Not all of them won the fight against the flood but they all tried. What was the alternative? Hope of future goodwill from an insurance company or government agency? How’s that been working out for you?
This time most of the current crop of farmers turned tail and ran. They weren’t made of the same stuff as the earlier generations. Most of them lived in the cities anyway. Some of them however, in one area in particular, did as their parents had in 2011. They used their tractors and other heavy equipment to build dikes around their homes, barns and some property. They made their own ‘Islands in the Flood.’ They were certainly trying. They would have won the war against the water had it been a normal flood.
It wasn’t.
“It’s a shame” The Dragon Lady told Shelby after the boys had left. ”The water’s are never going to recede. Not in this lifetime anyway. That water will never go away. Those farms are just GONE and might as well be trying to farm submerged river-bottom. That land is underwater and always will be, until the next ice age.”
The Next Episode
#61: Banana Slug -The Weldon Melton Farm…
The Previous Episode was
#59 -Interlude : Lotta Water
The First Episode was
# 1 : Prologue…
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Book One: SoulStone
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When watching the LameStream FakeNews Media
it's hard to tell what’s true or when they are lying isn’t it? It seems that they are more interested in influencing public opinion than they are reporting the facts.
SteemPunk Snail Image from Pixabay
Love the steempunk banana slug and your CNN analysis is spot on. They very much rely on drive by viewers and unfortunately get them, few but some. Be sure to watch Mark Dice's youtube channel if you don't already.
Nice History links, how soon people forget.
Being very busy for some days made me miss some part of your stories. Its refreshing and relaxing to my mind reading them again. Keep it up please.
Tank
This reminds me a bit of the southern part of my city in Venezuela: when it rains a few hours in a sustained manner, a lake that is very close (Lake of Valencia), rises its level and begins to flood various sectors of two cities, it produces devastation, houses are destroyed, the victims are produced and of course the authorities do not foresee anything and much less help the homeless. People fight, but nature almost always prevails ...
and yet they rebuild in the same place....and are horrified when it happens again.
Unfortunately, you are absolutely right.