The Nashville Flood

I you were to equate the importance of news with the amount of air time (or article length) you would see the Nashville Flood as mere blip on the screen. What flood, you say? On the first weekend of May, the Cumberland River rose to 13 feet above flood stage, killed thirty people, and caused at least a billion dollars worth of damage to Nashville and the surrounding areas close to the river which would include the greater portion of the central business district. Even the legendary Opryland Hotel complex with its expansive indoor gardens was a victim.

Apparently the flood could not compete with the “Times Square Bomber” and the early days of the BP oil spill for coverage. (Ed: yes, that started over a month ago.) Even the marital problems of Sondra Bullock and Jessie James claimed a huge portion as well. Even though the spill took 11 lives at the offset, surely the loss of 30 plus Nashvillians should trigger some emotional response. No one has died so far in the Bullock/James dust-up. For comparative dollar loss, the financial threat from the recent socialized medicine initiative is greater by a factor of 1,000.

I was privileged to live briefly in Nashville in the late seventies. As a result, I can understand why I have heard no plaintive calls from the locals to “save us.” It is an area well steeped in a “do-it-yourself” culture. It is a rare circumstance when the individual with the assistance of his family and his neighbors cannot solve whatever problems they face. Whenever I confronted a problem which exceeded my skills, I was advised by older family members to give “Willis” or “Billy Bob” a call to find the solution. If they didn’t know they always recommended someone who did.

Typical of those who were on-call to render aid were these guys who remind me a lot of those I knew in the Nashville area in this picture.

No doubt, this may well be part of the reason we have heard few reports from the greater Nashville area of looting and vandalizing private property. No poignant pictures of folks wading waist deep in flood waters with the loot from their last foray. These same guys would be delighted to take their bass boat out to rescue survivors clinging to roof tops. One last note: upon very careful examination of this photo I noted that each pictured individual is practicing superb gun safety and none are covering the triggers.

The spirit of independence is alive and well in Nashville, Tennessee.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon