Wide Angle Lenz [beta]

I know the world has been inundated with Flood 2008 coverage, but I wanted to hop on the bandwagon for a minute and express some of my thoughts on the whole thing as my city frantically tries to pull itself together, knowing it’s not going to get the help it needs fast enough…

We all see natural disasters on TV or online, but this is the first one I have been able to walk up to. I spent a lot of my K-12 years in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and nothing too major happens from a weather point of view. Blizzard here, tornado there, but nothing on the same scale as this flood. The day it was really bad, that Thursday, was a day of awe and shock. I know, cheesy right? But I get what it means now.

At the end of Thursday I was on the SW side of town and needed to get to my apartment, which was on the NE side of town. This is a good 15-minute drive normally, but it took an hour this time. My friends and I took Interstate 380, which goes right next to downtown Cedar Rapids. Heading towards the city was a very eerie feeling. The entire downtown area and surrounding communities were without power, the sky was full of low, dark thunderstorm clouds, there wasn’t any rain but lightning was going off all over the dark area of the city, and the water was up to the Dairy Queen logo on the sign for the interstate drivers.

It’s a weird feeling to look at what is happening to communities, historic centers, theatres, and downtown buildings you drive by almost daily, and feel the desire to just stare in awe and complete fascination as the water engulfs it all. Then you remember this is a horrible, horrible thing and the guilt kicks in, and the hopelessness for the city rumbles at the bottom of your stomach.

Buildings are collapsing and the city is talking about leveling the entire 100-year flood plan, which would be hundreds (if not thousands) of structures. My heart goes out to those that are directly effected by the waters of the flood and hope that our city – and all the other effected regions – get the attention that is necessary to get this city back on its feet and people back in homes.

My microphone didn’t work when I went downtown to film and interview, but I will be getting that prepped with some music and put it up as soon as possible. Check out my Flickr photostream for photos taken from my phone.

Thank you to everyone that has done something to assist with the recovery. Every little bit helps.