So some of you are still living normal lives??? (Des Moines: insurance, motel)

[WoodwardGirl]

Since the 12th of June, I've had very little time on the internet, but have popped in to City-Data every now and then to see what was going on. And I am having this total "absence of reality" feeling about it.

I took today off. It's the second day I've had off since the 12th. Otherwise, it's 12-14 hour days, working at flood recovery. I'm one of the really lucky ones -- my home wasn't affected, nor was my work. As a teacher, though, I have the summer off. So I've been volunteering. And compared to the people with whom I've been working, my hours and my efforts are miniscule.

I'm tired. I'm getting testy. I am so sick of this nightmare that I go to sleep every night wishing that I will wake up and find out the flood didn't happen. But we're seeing fewer and fewer volunteers every day... and there's no less work to be done...

So I'm just mystified to find out that others out there are having life more or less as normal and saying things like "not that many people were affected," or "if you don't go downtown, you wouldn't even notice anything happened." Criminy! What planet are they living on? The flood is equal to 9/11 in terms of "before and after" for Cedar Rapids... whether it is better or worse (and I'm sure it will be a mix), life changed irrevocably for the city -- and for those of us who live here -- on June 13th, 2008.

So I'm posting to see whether anybody else is out there, having the same feeling of disbelief that some folks are apparently unaffected by the flood. Anybody????

[LPerkins33]

for most people its not that they don't want to help its that they can't. They still have jobs and still have to support themselves, I don't know of a single person who would willingly get fired from their job to help someone they don't know. Hell even the people I know who lost their homes here in Iowa City still have to go into work.

[WoodwardGirl]

I didn't ask why people weren't helping, I asked whether they were honestly having normal lives despite what happened, because, to me, it seems to overshadow everything else that is occurring. Your defensiveness speaks volumes. I do know people who volunteer after work and on weekends... live with them, in fact.

However, my question was how people can make statements like "it's really no big deal" when one in five households within the city of Cedar Rapids have been displaced by the flood... when the woman caller to the radio show calmly asks what the officials suggest she use as a mailing address when she is living out of her car... and the 100 or so new friends she made while standing in the FEMA line for 9 hours have the same question, not just for themselves but for their children... when a woman goes to the Salvation Army and picks up her box of essential supplies and is thrilled to be able to get a box of dog biscuits as one of her 10 "non-essential" items because it will make her girls so happy to be able to treat the dogs, which have been living in the motel room with them for three weeks, now... It just breaks my heart and I am just wondering whether someone out there is still having life go on... if there are places that weren't as badly affected that are getting back to normal, after all, because it seems to me like nothing will ever be "normal" again and I long to hear about genuine recovery, about people who no longer think about the flood every minute, but forget occasionally what they've been through because they are going to survive and are moving on.

For those who are here, in the midst of it, and just ignoring it, well, I have nothing but contempt.

[ICvegan]

I don't live in Iowa City yet, but I was up there last week for four days. We drove through Coralville a few times. It was gut-wrenching. I'm moving to IC later this month and will do some volunteering until I find a job...after as well if time permits. What other types of volunteering are needed other than clean-up? I have asthma that I can regulate without meds so long as I'm careful about what I'm breathing, (and eat well and all that) and I'd like to keep it that way (hate meds, have no insurance). I wouldn't last very long breathing what you and the other volunteers are having to breathe. What other kind of support is needed?

[fenix]

Woodward Girl, bless you for your efforts; you are doing a good thing and are obviously fully committed to the task at hand. I do not mean to upset you in any way, but I do have to question your approach on this thread. What are you really after? What is it that your trying to accomplish or find out? Based on your tone I doubt you're really interested in whether or not people are trying to get back to normal; if you're trying to motivate, do you think you're going about it in the right way? My heart breaks for those whose lost everything, but do you really think that people in the community don't understand that?

Obviously the recovery effort is going to take a long time and there is a lot left to do. What can volunteers do to help that doesn't involve them sacrificing their own health or safety. What do you need and where should we go? People keep calling for help, but it is very unclear on where to go or what to do.

[zz4guy]

Life is going on just fine. I work with a handful of people who lost their homes and their biggest obstacle is FEMA and the insurance company. Try getting money out of a federal bureacracy and into a corporate giant. Yeah.

Most people just packed up what they had and moved into an appartment for the time being. They're probably saving money compared to a house payment. Appartment space is tight around town because of this.

It seems like if people still have their jobs their doing a-ok. Some take time off, but nobody I heard is even thinking of moving away like what happened in Katrina.

To answere the original question, yeah my life is virtually unaffected by this mess, except for having to go clear to Westdale to register a car. Oh and the library is a wasteland now. But, well, who cares.

[Roy G. Biv]

Serious question: are all the people volunteering as pissed off and self-righteous as you? If so, then I may be staying home.

I think you should consider counseling or something because the initial cleanup has only been going on for a few weeks and it is going to last for months.

[ICvegan]

I think that woodwardgirl is just venting. She's stressed out and overworked. Everyone needs to vent sometimes and this is as good a place as any. Rather than blasting her for being so tired that she is not perkily bouncy, it'd probably be much more helpful to try to be understanding of what it is like to be out there, cleaning up, day after day. All I did was drive through Coralville a couple of times, and see volunteers cleaning up. I don't know how they can do that day after day. It's a nightmare situation. Woodwardgirl, any time you need to vent and want someone to hear you, listen and really hear you, shoot me a direct message, okay?

[neanerbean]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

Life is going on just fine. I work with a handful of people who lost their homes and their biggest obstacle is FEMA and the insurance company. Try getting money out of a federal bureacracy and into a corporate giant. Yeah.

Most people just packed up what they had and moved into an appartment for the time being. They're probably saving money compared to a house payment. Appartment space is tight around town because of this.

It seems like if people still have their jobs their doing a-ok. Some take time off, but nobody I heard is even thinking of moving away like what happened in Katrina.

To answer the original question, yeah my life is virtually unaffected by this mess, except for having to go clear to Westdale to register a car. Oh and the library is a wasteland now. But, well, who cares.

You have got to be the most callous and uncaring person I have ever 'met' real or virtual 'But, well who cares'. A hell of a lot of people do. no I wasn't affected by the flood but my home town was (IC ) and my friends.

I am bidding my time to see what was lost and what was not because I have 2 small kids and they have no place in disaster area, what I am waiting for is to see what people need as they move on with their lives after everything is mostly cleaned up and they move back, then we can see what they need for clothes, plates and such. When FEMA is gone and everyone has gotten on with their lives and abandoned the effort because it's 'over' we will still need volunteers for these people with the weeks and months to come. Winter clothes need to be replaced, XMas trees etc. it's not going to be over for at least a year if not more. I am waiting and it irks me that I can' do more. But I am assembling a league of people together, getting contacts and such in place. so it ready when it needs to happen
So yeah more people care then you think

[WoodwardGirl]

Originally Posted by neanerbean

You have got to be the most callous and uncaring person I have ever 'met' real or virtual 'But, well who cares'. A hell of a lot of people do. no I wasn't affected by the flood but my home town was (IC ) and my friends.

I am bidding my time to see what was lost and what was not because I have 2 small kids and they have no place in disaster area, what I am waiting for is to see what people need as they move on with their lives after everything is mostly cleaned up and they move back, then we can see what they need for clothes, plates and such. When FEMA is gone and everyone has gotten on with their lives and abandoned the effort because it's 'over' we will still need volunteers for these people with the weeks and months to come. Winter clothes need to be replaced, XMas trees etc. it's not going to be over for at least a year if not more. I am waiting and it irks me that I can' do more. But I am assembling a league of people together, getting contacts and such in place. so it ready when it needs to happen
So yeah more people care then you think

Thanks, Neanerbeaner. That's exactly what I wanted to know, and it helps so much to know that other people DO understand the magnitude of the situation. Honestly, it does feel to me like being at war... I feel like get up everyday to a changed world, where "normal life" had to be put on hold in order to do what had to be done. And it's not fun, and I'd really rather be doing the stuff I planned on doing this summer, but I really don't feel like I have a choice; I mean, check out the numbers in this DMR story: On a tour of Cedar Rapids, nine miles of devastation | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register . I read this and I SEE it and then I hear people pooh-pooh the whole event -- "not that much of the city flooded," and "I have to drive further to renew my registration," and it just feels so weird, like "what planet are they from?" How are they missing the enormity of this? You think I'm self righteous? I disagree. Puzzled all to heck? Oh, yeah.

Yeah, I'm definitely not at my most articulate. Definitely have lost the whole veneer of sweetness and light. As a result, I don't really give a hoot if I'm insulting some of these folks. If they're doing what they can, they'll know where I'm coming from. If they're not, maybe they're insulted and maybe I'm real, real glad.

Anyway, thank you, Neanerbeaner, and the rest of the folks who expressed concern and support. I do appreciate it. And your point about it being a long haul is a VERY valid one, and it is really good to hear folks that are planning for that. My area of work is one that will hopefully transition into something somewhat less demanding in a month or so, and it is so good to think of others waiting in the wings to pick up when I fall, er, sit down.