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Monday, June 28, 2010

Missouri River Flooding

Like many previous years, the Missouri River has been running high this spring. Flood warnings have been in effect for several weeks now. Once a week at least, the local newspaper runs the headline, "River Going to Crest on Thursday." Afterwards, the river levels drops a little before more runoff from thunderstorms to the north send the river to a new level and what seems like another crest. One of the clerks in a local store has said that her sewer has been backing up because of the flooding. Judging from the number of teeth that she was missing, she probably doesn't have either sewer back up coverage or flood insurance. Poor lady!

A few of the high school seniors, who were celebrating their freedom last month, having been released from school about a week earlier than the other students, were jumping into the water near the railroad overpass. One of them made the mistake of leaving his mouth open during one of his leaps and said afterwards, "That water tastes awful." His friend replied, "You're not supposed to drink the water, dumb ass." I have often wondered since whether that guy ever suffered any health problems as a result of swallowing the water.











Balloons

Last month, during the few days I had off before the summer session started, my wife and I tried to see the launching of balloons in Gardner, Kansas for its second annual balloon festival. There were so many other people with the same idea that parking was virtually nonexistant. Once my wife and I decided to drive north and west, we managed to see some of the balloons as they drifted overhead. Clicking on each picture will enlarge it.