'We Are the Lucky Ones'

"This state, well, it's been devastated. It's a disaster, with tornadoes and floods at the same time. It's like Armageddon, but Iowa FEMA is doing a good job here and our governor and the National Guard are saving lives. This is not a Katrina situation by any means. There is massive volunteerism going on, the friendliness of the people in this state, the way they will give anything, it makes you realize that we are the lucky ones. Why would a golf pro with high credentials stick around in a place where I can only really work for 7-8 months a year? Because I'm a single dad raising three kids here now, and there's not a better place in the country to raise a family. And this is a perfect example of why Iowa is such a great place to live. Disasters can and do happen anywhere. We've had snow or rain straight for almost six months. We've not had a break. This disaster is not the last week, it's been building up the whole year.

"As bad off as we are right now, and even though my business is underwater, I am the lucky one here. We are devastated, and a lot of people lost businesses and homes, but in Iowa there is a place to stay, people are doing things to make lives improve immediately. "It may look like Armageddon in Iowa right now, but you just can't believe what our Governor Culver, his staff, the National Guard (A couple young guards even stopped by to see that I was ok, many just getting back from overseas), area Mayors, Army Corp of Engineers are all doing. If Louisiana was run by Iowa people and volunteers it would have been a much more positive outcome."

SUSAN DAVISSON--IOWA CITY
Susan Davisson, who lives with her husband right on the Iowa River in Iowa City, was evacuated; their home suffered severe damage and may not be livable. "We have every intention of moving back even if we have to rebuild," she says. "We had a creeping evacuation over the last week and consider ourselves very lucky to have been able to get our things out. We started by just moving a few things up stairs then decided to get some pictures out of the house then moved everything upstairs then moved everything for the most part out. Then the boys took our delivery van and helped move all the animals out of the shelter on Thursday and Friday to the fair grounds. Friday afternoon we helped sandbag at a friend's business until one of the boys hurt his back.

"At this point we are at a loss as to what is going to happen to us. My husband and I are in our mid 50's, had five years to go on our mortgage and started a new business in February with our sons; [we were] hoping to work hard and be able to wind down by our 60's and having more free time. Fortunately we have flood insurance that will help. We are working harder now to maintain life than we ever have in 30-plus years of marriage. We constantly have to tell ourselves how lucky we are and remind ourselves how much worse it could be.

"We are currently staying with family and friends, considering volunteering at the fairgrounds at night to help the animal shelter and have a place to sleep. My closet is in my car so I can stay anywhere! Another issue is our three dogs and a cat named Val.  They are not happy. Poor kids."

TAYLOR BROWN--IOWA CITY
In Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa, hundreds of homes and other structures have been damaged by flood waters from the Iowa River. The university has felt the brunt of the flood waters because so much of the university campus is along the riverfront. Taylor Brown, a senior at the University of Iowa, spent most of Saturday sandbagging the library and other buildings on campus. "A few of my friends and I went out Saturday to help sandbag the campus. The number of people that came out was really impressive, although it seemed difficult to effectively use all the manpower, we just kinda jumped into line and passed sandbags down in front of the library, which is right across the street from my apartment. The Army corps of engineers had us move because the levee was close to breaching and they didn't want to put any volunteers at risk. As far as it looks right now, my apartment should be okay but the whole city is pretty well covered in sandbags so who knows how this will end up. My friends in Cedar Rapids have a real difficult time getting from there to Iowa City, and getting around the city is tough with most of the bridges closed. Driving back to Des Moines, farms look like lakes and it feels like Iowa is a wetland."