time to build the ark
Good news: Even though we live next to a lake, our house is thankfully located on top of a hill.Bad news: We don't own a boat.
In case you haven't heard, Tennessee is flooded. Not just in my immediate area, or the greater Nashville area, but THE ENTIRE STATE OF TENNESSEE. I-24 at the Bell Road exit is a lake. I-40 near downtown is a lake. Over 50 major roads in Nashville are closed due to flooding. 30,000 people in Nashville are without power. Vanderbilt Children's Hospital's main lobby is flooded, the ambulance bay is flooded and the ER is flooded. I heard on the news that in Perry County a church was floating down the highway. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. Thousands more are stranded or have been rescued from their cars by boat. Some have lost their lives.
Oh yeah, and IT'S STILL RAINING.
This is not typical rain. The sky has literally opened up. To top it all off, middle TN + Spring = tornadoes. Lots and lots of tornadoes. So far I haven't heard of any touching down in Nashville, but the storms keep coming.
I was watching the news last night about the state of emergency in Tennessee, and they mentioned that National Guard troops would be activated in all parts of the state to deal with this disaster.
WHAT National Guard troops???
Maybe they have forgotten that Tennessee's largest NG unit, the 278th, is sitting in Iraq right now. Over 3,200 soldiers. Do you think the active duty Army is going to be sent to Tennessee to help out? Don't hold your breath. Because that's not their job, it's the responsibility of the National Guard. So as you can see, it makes a lot of sense that the NG is often deployed to the war zone before active duty troops, and for longer durations. Apparently, EVERYTHING is the responsibility of the National Guard.
Of course I'm a little biased, but the way our government uses our military has always frustrated me. And for the first time, it's directly impacting a disaster right here at home. I'm proud of what our men are doing in Iraq, and they're doing great things, but I'm still ready for them to come home. And we need them here now more than ever.
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