Flood Busters

I really wanted to get down and dirty on Monday, the day after the flood but things I can't control got in the way of me helping during the week. Very frustrating. Anyway, some friends and I met up on Saturday to help some good citizens of Nashville clean their houses up.

Keep in mind, a lot of people lost everything. I mean that literally. Like they have nothing. No clothes, tv, furniture, bed... everything is gone and while it looked ok as we carted it out to the street, you have to keep in mind that everything is contaminated. Flood waters rip through sewers, gas lines, garages, chemical plants and every other nasty thing you don't want to be sleeping on or eating out of.

We spent the morning canvasing areas which meant we were assigned streets and sent out to knock on people's doors to see if there was any immediate needs. We did our few hours and we thought it kind of silly that you have a bunch of able bodied and willing to get dirty people canvassing the streets. Surely someone that didn't want to clean could do that right? So next up we joined with a team of people going to do some heavy lifting and cleaning on a badly hit street. Upon arrival, the street looked like a bomb exploded. After 4 hours in a poor gentleman's house we actually made a dent in the destruction. The smell is horrendous. Think of an open sewer mixed with mold and mud. Yeah that's what it smelled like. It's a nice feeling to get something done for someone that has nothing. I mean, I had to think of it this way, what if it was me?

So off I go this Friday to help someone else. Not sure who or where but I know I'm going. Here are the few photos taken from the excursion:

Me with buckets of cleaning kits.


Friends pitching in.


Brad in the back of the canvasing truck.


Even in the ugliest times it's best to try to make someone laugh.