Tuesday, March 30, 2010

P is for People

People are definitely what I am thinking about today as the rain continues to pour down, and hundreds of folks who live near rivers all over New England are being evacuated from their homes.  I took the above photo a few weeks ago at Great Meadows in Concord, a place we visit often to go walking and bird watching.  In the photo my husband and his sister are standing in front of what is usually the beginning of a long causeway between two marshes; however, the marshes--home to countless animals--have been flooded for weeks with overflow from the Concord River.  So, displaced animals, too, are on my mind.  

As I watched the local news last night, I saw an elderly woman being evacuated from her home, and her one concern was not for her house; it was for her cats, whom she thinks of as her children.  The caring rescue workers crated them up and brought them to a nearby animal shelter to wait out the storm.    

With nearly 13 inches of rain, this is the wettest March on record in Boston, and it's the fourth wettest month since 1872.  With more rain on the way tonight and tomorrow, it will likely become the second wettest month on record.  The Boston Globe has posted a piece on how to build your own ark.  Indeed, where we live on the mighty Merrimack River, the flood season can seem quite biblical.  

P is for People, yes.  And Pleuvoir and Patience and Pouring and Paddle and Prayers.  
  

32 comments:

  1. I'll be thinking of you and yours when the rain comes.

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  2. Wow! My mom's in San Francisco right now so I haven't heard about all this rain and flooding in the East! Thinking of you!!

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  3. Alors que des prières pour que la pluie cesse... et que le peuple prospère. Petits bisous...

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  4. Gigi,

    When we lived in Mass. we lived in Medway, and then in Lancaster. Both near rivers. So I can only imagine what is happening.

    Do be careful.

    Love,

    Marjorie

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  5. I was helicoptered out of a flood when I was about five...I remember it being a huge adventure, but it must have been hell for my mother because we moved a couple of years after that, OUT of the flood zone.

    Dry thoughts sent your way and...

    Smiles

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  6. Gigi,
    I'm thinking of you and the many others who are in the flood zones....

    Keep dry, safe and warm.
    Bisous,
    Melissa

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  7. Thanks, friends! I am lucky because I live high up in my building, but I feel for the folks whose homes and businesses are flooded! Let's hope the rain ends soon.

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  8. Sending my love to everyone in the flood zones - I certainly hope your rain dries up soon!

    Regarding the elderly woman that reminded me when I was a pet sitter many years ago - one of my elderly clients fell and she wouldn't let the paramedics take her until they reached me to come care for her animals.

    Warm hugs, Gigi! xxoo :)

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  9. my heart breaks for that lovely lady worried about her cats...

    and my heart breaks for all the animals and people affected by this....

    i hope everyone will be o.k.

    saying a prayer

    Kary
    xxx

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  10. Yikes, I didn't realize the flooding was so bad! What a thoughtful post, Gigi- you so seamlessly connect your writing to the outside world, which is SO refreshing in the land of blogs. So tonight I'll be thinking of you and the old granny and her rescued cats and the flooded Great Meadow and all the poor people who are being evacuated, and I'll say a little prayer.
    xoxo

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  11. Oh that's terribly sad. I'm so sorry to hear that that is happening in New England ( I wasn't aware).
    I will be keeping you all in my thoughts.
    Lovely picture by the way.

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  12. Hoping that it does end soon. Thinking of you, Gigi.

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  13. Oh, and I forgot to say that I love that photo. Absolutely beautiful.

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  14. I've seen news footage of the rain. Take care!
    I've never experienced that sort of disaster, and I can't imagine what it would be like to have your home flooded. So sad.
    Now....I just love that photo of your husband and his sister. Truly beautiful.

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  15. I had my share of flood last year~
    I truly can feel them! Hope you'd be fine darling!
    xo

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  16. hope all is well and things stay high and dry...blessings to you and yours over there in Mass. I came over from pretty far west..I had to see who won the chocolate!!

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  17. The world's weather really seems to have gone just the littlest bit crazy this year - hopefully the rain will stop soon and you can all dry out. I love your photo of your husband and sister-in-law - it says so much! Leigh

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  18. We have terrible flooding here in lower NY and NJ too....praying for all those people and their difficult situations...
    Beautiful photograph!
    Take care, Laura

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  19. I'll send you my ark....I think you'll like it !
    and my rubber boots....you can have those,too !

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  20. The weather is unbelievable! Keep dry and safer...*prayers*... It's been chilly, foggy and rainy here too... not at all spring-like or feeling like Easter! ((HUGS))

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  21. Very evocative photo...and so glad to hear about the elderly lady and the rescuers of her kitties. I think that is something so much more on our minds since Katrina...and that is good!

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  22. I wasn't aware of this danger, but I will be thinking of you now and of the entire region. Rain can be such a healing touch, but few things are more destructive when there is too much of it.... I love the picture, btw, that purple scarf trailing in the wind....

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  23. We’ve had record-breaking rain here in Maine too. It just stopped. I love the purple scarf in the photo, but I’m sorry to hear about the flooding. We used to enjoy walking in Concord too when we lived in MA, especially at the DeCordova Museum. Funny about the ark!

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  24. Lots of puddles around here too...stay safe Gigi. ~Lili

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  25. I hope you´ll have a wonderful easter , with lots of joy and candy!!!

    Take care!
    Hugs/
    Luiza

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  26. GiGi, I know the Merrimack river it rungs along side Lawerence. That is a big River..
    The floods are everywhere,here too. Happy Easter.

    yvonne

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  27. the flowing of the scarf is such artistry . hang in there gigi

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  28. oh i truly love this image...
    prayers for the people of new england.
    :(

    hope the rain stops soon my friend...

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  29. Oh! Flooding is one of my middle-of-the-night- anxieties, living where we do. And we have had the sea in around the house with waves breaking on the front door on three occasions. Flooding is becoming more and more a feature of our winters, here in Ireland in general, which is worrying!

    On another note, I ADORE the photo! It is so incredibly atmospheric, and haunting. A very apt choice, Gigi. What is it about photographs of anonymous people that are so moving?

    Ps. I now they are NOT anonymous to you, but from this distance they are, if you know what I mean! C x

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