When the rains, humidity, and heat leave us, there always seems to be an aftereffect on the humans when the cool dry air returns by creating a sleepiness or fatigue. I believe it’s even more heightened from all the undue stress levied upon both our minds and bodies from the flooding in North Iowa. I read a very sad article today about an 80 year old woman who was flooded out the second time. The flood of 2008 ruined her apartment building where she lived, and now again in 2016. Eight years doesn’t seem like much of a reprieve after having endured one nightmare at that time, as well as the stress that came with putting it all back together. Some of the experts say these patterns are only short-lived cycles, but I’m with the other camp in believing it’s part of a much longer and more widespread cycle. Every year California seems to be in a drought. Their water tables are rapidly shrinking to where farm wells are going dry. It’s pretty scary to imagine, but when there’s no water for home use or irrigation, the fibre of cities and counties begin to fray. If these cycles become generational, then we will be seeing areas of the West turning into regions similar to the sub-Sahara. As far as the Midwest is concerned, I’m of the belief we’ll continue to see the violent storms we’ve been experiencing these past five to ten years. The flood of 2008 was supposed to be a 500 year flood, yet we were not much past the eight year anniversary mark. Many of the Greene residents believed they had even more damage done this time around. With that said, I suppose we’re left with saying to ourselves, “Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.” In light of what’s happened, I’m going to continue to encourage everyone to be more involved in their communities. One thing that many don’t realize, is that if there are not those ties that bind us together when the going gets tough, it’ll be much harder to maintain order in the midst of natural or social disasters. God help us if those times do arrive because we’ll be seeing more of those people who’ve been greedy all their lives being forced to beg for assistance. When we don’t have the simple basics to sustain life on a daily basis, we find chaos arriving at our doorsteps. We must always remember that if we don’t have a rock-solid community support group, there will be no sharing and caring for those in need. It’s far better to be helpful than helpless.
Most of my day was spent returning correspondence and checking on some of my listings that are vacant. It’s never too much effort to go around and make sure all is well–especially if the owners live out of town. I had to inwardly laugh today at the son of one of my clients. He blurted out, “You have your hair cut just like mine except I doesn’t have gray like you do, and mine is thicker than yours.” All I said was, “You have a handsome haircut and it appears to fit your head.”. But later added, “Wait until you live to be at least a 1,000 years old and see how much gray and thinning hair you have.” I did take his words as a compliment since he always seems to be looks oriented. Several nights ago I began watching the series “4400”. It’s got a futuristic twist to it and reminds me a little of “X-Men”. It’s mind-healthy to make time for a good book or an interesting flick. I’m slowly working my way thru a great one that’s solely based on documented research. After I’m finished, I’ll be sure to share some thoughts with you.
