Eventually, the barricades came down and the school was dry enough to open. When I drove the kids home from school (Jim takes them in the morning), this is what we saw, house after house, block after block. The system that holds excess rainfall north of town was overcome, and many blocks of homes saw water literally pouring into their basements. Windows broke, walls buckled, lights sparked and toilets geysered filth. In some homes, the water reached the first floor. Families were evacuated by boat in some cases. When it was safe to return, people started pulling the wreckage out. The National Guard helped, and in an unusual twist, Gov. Rounds ordered in truckloads of orange-vested state prisoners to help. This was shocking for the kids and me, and after this, I stopped blogging and started helping with flood recovery through our church, Bethlehem Lutheran.