April 26, 2008: Global Warming in Aberdeen

I have a feeling Julie Neidlinger feels my pain. Get your laughs at her Earth Day activities.

This is a First

We just returned from dinner and a movie.

At the stop light, while we waited for an endless train, I glanced at the temperature gauge:

-2.

I let that sink in for a half a moment, then said, "Negative Two. I think this is the first time I've ever been in negative two weather."

This image here: this is what you wear in a fake winter.

Seeking Female in South Dakota, S or M, Must be Judicious, Thoughtful, Open Minded. Sense of Humor Optional.

I have been looking around for bloggers who call my new home theirs: South Dakota.

I've linked to about five, so far. One of them, Lone Prairie, I've been reading for years, and so should you. Another I've been reading off and on is Dakota Women.

These aren't women I generally agree with, but they're women interested in politics in South Dakota, and I was hoping for some lively discussion and the occasional meeting of the minds.

I did not anticipate meeting a writer as unbalanced as Anna. To call her writing biased is an understatement. To Anna, there are two kinds of people: Good people and the deceitful, indifferent, cold-hearted despots who call themselves pro-life.

Two weeks ago, she was complaining (generous word) that the vast right-wing conspiracy known as the pro-life movement makes women act like "helpless, idiotic victims."

Today, she claims that "Olga Reyes is merely one out of about 70,000 women who will die this year as a result of restrictions on abortion." (Ms. Reyes died because of her country's uber-restrictive abortion laws that don't permit doctors to perform an abortion when the life of the mother is in jeopardy.) Never mind that the need for an abortion as the result of an ectopic pregnancy is an exception, not the rule, and you would be hard-pressed to find a reasonable pro-lifer in the U.S. who supports a ban on abortion on these cases.

But that would be the balanced approach; it would show signs of thoughtfulness and consistency. Instead, Anna maintains that women die as a result of restrictive laws--and not as a result of their own choice to terminate an inconvenient pregnancy, nay. Helpless victims, anyone?

Later she blithely accuses "lots of people" (this means pro-life people in Dakota Women parlance) of "not be[ing] troubled in the least if stuff like this happened here."

That's "not being troubled in the least" if women die painful, preventable deaths in case you had trouble connecting the dots.

I wasn't very nice in the comments.

Can You Identify this Plant?

Last week, we girls and one bouncy babe hit four rummage/antique shops. I'm still cross-eyed. If I never see an antique again that'll be...aw, who am I kidding? I'll be back out next weekend.

At one of them, the proprietor had two gorgeous plants, a dying Aloe Vera plant (which I will try to revive) and this one. I asked about them, since they seemed to be included among the furniture for sale. He said he was "trying to give them away."

Do any of my readers know what this one is called?


I'm a long time gone from high school horticulture class.

Putting it Into Perspective

We've been working all day, all of the basement that isn't carpeted is dry, and it felt good to sit in the living room in the quiet of the evening absorbing the pink and blue dusk, grateful that the heavy lifting is over.

There is much to be said for the kindness of strangers. My neighbors were strangers this morning, but disaster (however minor) is a great equalizer. They marched through the water and into our basement with introductions as they passed. Together we hauled our belongings out of the wet rooms and into the garage or the dry spots in the basement. They've done it before--some of them today. Bound by a double need for support and the desire to help, we are friends.

One neighbor lived in Grand Forks in 1997 when the town suffered a devestating flood and evacuated for two months. She was upbeat and helpful in more ways than one. She hauled wet cardboard boxes upstairs and told stories about the damage from the flood in Grand Forks; she brought sandwiches and cold pop; she gave and took orders; she saved my books and priceless LPs.

At one point she mentioned Hurricane Katrina and how the memory of what happened there helps her put thing in perspective. It helped me too.

We're safe; we've eaten a hot meal; we know how to use our sump pump; and tonight we're going to sleep really, really well.

And this is not our car.

9:38 AM, Sunday, May 6, 2007My Street

My in-laws are in town visiting. Their car was parked in the street during the storm.

The neighbors come out to talk about the storm and the flooding.

It was the longest storm I've ever been through. Large and slow-moving, it hovered over Aberdeen. There was thunder and lightening for at least five hours. When we went to bed at 12:30 a.m. the sky was still flashing.

Providentially we don't have any water in our house and we didn't lose our electricty. A lot of our neighbors' basements are wet and the guys are down the street using the sump pump to try to clear out some of the water on the street.

Speaking of the street, the word is police are ticketing drivers to discourage traffic. One of the schools is flooded and the main street is apparently under water. There is a question about whether or not we will be in church today.

UPDATE: I spoke too soon. Three hours, 3 neighbors, 2 in-laws, 2 sump pumps and 3 shop vacs later we have a moment to breathe. Will there be a second round?

ADDED: Here is an incredible photo of downtown Aberdeen courtesy of the Aberdeen American News. The Prof has a good post here and he and Ken Blanchard have posted additional pictures since then. The Argus Leader has a story on the James River flooding its banks. Apparently we had more rain in one hour than we usually get in a month.

ADDED:

We had to run to the store and took a few pictures along the way. The water has receeded and some areas were dry as a bone. Others were still afloat.

One Man's Junk...

Treasure hunters.

Vertigo

This is the old freight elevator at the back of the building. Amazingly it still operates and with a thrill, and a little bit of fear, we allowed Jim the kindly proprietor to haul us to the fourth floor.

Jim

Velvet Theatre Seats

There was a time when movie-goers reclined in velvet and carried out their own trash.

Red Wagons

Images from a Prairie Rummage Shop