(Saturday, October 19, 2013) I live near the Minnesota River. Unrelenting rains have caused the river to spill its banks. The flooding is massive, dangerous. Other rivers and streams are also at flood stage. The government has provided safe haven for elders and pregnant women only. My husband and I and our infant daughter are preparing to flee.
We pack a few belongings to carry on our backs. We will be traveling on foot. I put our two cats in their carriers and attach ropes to the handles so I can pull them behind me. My husband says to leave the older cat but I refuse.
Because of the rains the aquifers have filled and groundwater is bubbling up through the soil, causing even more flooding. We must leave immediately. I bend over to tie my hiking boots and notice that my boots have no hooks, that I wrap the leather laces around and around my leather-clad ankles. I have a lucid moment and wonder if this is a past life dream. My boots seem to be from the time of hunter-gatherers.
Day notes:
Bonnie and I are signed up to attend an event on climate change at the Carondelet Center next month.