"As they passed the rows of houses they saw through the open doors that men were sweeping and dusting and washing dishes, while the women sat around in groups, gossiping and laughing.
"What has happened?" the Scarecrow asked a sad-looking man with a bushy beard, who wore an apron and was wheeling a baby-carriage along the sidewalk.
"Why, we've had a revolution, your Majesty -- as you ought to know very well," replied the man; "and since you went away the women have been running things to suit themselves. I'm glad you have decided to come back and restore order, for doing housework and minding the children is wearing out the strength of every man in the Emerald City."
"Hm!" said the Scarecrow, thoughtfully. "If it is such hard work as you say, how did the women manage it so easily?"
"I really do not know," replied the man, with a deep sigh. "Perhaps the women are made of cast-iron.""
- L. Frank Baum, "The Land of Oz"
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
From a dear friend in Nashville:
Asking for prayers for our area of the country. Just in case you went to the bathroom during the 45 short seconds that national news covered this (OK, that may be a slight exaggeration but the oil spill and crazy would be bomber is getting more publicity than we are!) Nashille is completely flooded out. It's unbelievable.
Me and my family are thankfully OK, but I have a lot of friends who have lost much, or everything... Just asking for your prayers for our forgotten city... It's surreal and crazy. Words can't describe it. It's as bad, or worse than hurricane hit places. Love you guys!
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Comments on "Prayer Request for Nashville":
2. jen
- 05/06/2010 7:56 am CDT
I don't know why this isn't getting the reporting that the floods in North Dakota and Iowa got or even the New England flooding from a few years ago. It's weird.
I have friends in Nashville who barely got out of their home in time as the waters rushed in. They have 2 year old triplets and a 5 month old and a puppy. With 2' of standing water in their main floor the husband/dad managed to get the triplets and puppy out of the house and to their car that was down the street with mom and baby. They stayed with friends the first night then in a hotel for a couple of nights and are now with other friends until they kind find a place to rent while they deal with the clean up.
I can't even imagine it.
3. Jared
- 05/06/2010 8:16 am CDT
There's two reasons I can think of why it's not getting much national coverage:
a) It's not as bad as Katrina. (And it's not, obviously.)
b) There's no obvious political angle here. With Katrina, hatred of Bush, Nagin, et.al. became the lighting rod. Nashville just doesn't have enough whiners. And if anybody wanted to start saying Obama hates white people, "the media" aren't likely to find that as notable as Bush hating black people.
The truth is that it's not as bad as Katrina or the impending oil spill disaster, but it's still pretty darn bad. We have plenty of friends who've lost a lot, and one church I know has 50% of its staff who lost their homes basically. Unlivable.
The drinking water/sewage situation is going to be serious and already is in some places.
But for the most part Nashvillians are working together and handling it. Not much of a news story there, I suppose. :-)
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My wife and I went to Nashville last Summer for a vacation and it's an incredible city. It's been so sad to see pictures of downtown underwater and to hear things like the Opry being displaced.
Hopefully, the cleanup can begin soon and the city can get running again and back on its feet. Fortunately, the good-natured people of the city are in a better position to work together and cooperate for progress than many other cities might be, given a similar situation.
Praying for all those impacted by the weather there . . .