Oh, Jonathan, I am so very, very sorry! I had been aware of the massive wildfires, but not of the rain. And then to find out that you all were in the middle of such a frightening and heartbreaking event. I wish there were something I could do...talk about feeling helpless. Please know that I am holding you in my heart and my thoughts. With love from your Aunt Charlotte.
It is difficult to read the account of someone I admire relating the chaos, fear and personal loss of climate change. Especially you, Jonathan, who has served as a canary in our coal mine. As Americans especially, but generally as a modern human, we are mostly unfamiliar with the the experience of suffering the consequences of our actions. May you recover safely and redouble your efforts.
PS. I have recorded 13.1 inches of rain at my weather station in Grand Junction.
Best wishes, hoping you and yours are are safe and recovering from the flood events--until humanity at large wises up, which seems unlikely, we are all on track for catastrophic effects of climate change. Keep up your good works. D
wow, Jonathan! what a literal nightmare...and that it happened during lydia's visit?! crazy. glad the most important things are safe. take your time getting back on your feet!
As Dave said (below) you are one of the few who has served as a canary in the coal mine! I'm so sorry for your losses, but glad you & your family (dogs included) have come thru ok. Thats whats important.
Wow, what trauma and heartbreak. So glad you and your family are safe and dry.
Let all of us know if there is anything we can do to help with re-establishing your life and home. I’d be honored to make gifts from my library (and Maria’s) to help rebuild yours. And please, take as long a break from Land Desk as needed.
This is terrible news! So sorry for you and your family and all that loss. And also for Greece.
Back in 2012 I lost almost everything I owned in a flood. I packed up the apartment after grad school and had inherited a lot of furniture from my grandfather and decided to go travel for a while. I put it all into two storage units. Then the Susquehanna River decided to rise 20 feet. They called it a 500-year flood that time, because just two years earlier a similar flood had nearly wiped out the whole town and had been chalked up as the 100-year event. I had to race back from Colorado and the entire drive across the country I just kept praying to myself that my father's dictionary would be okay. My entire childhood he would always say, "look it up!" whenever I asked what a word meant. I cherished it, even though it was just a battered old American Heritage dictionary he'd had since high school, with soft worn pages and our last name written in faded black marker on the edge. When I excavated the remains after the flood, by some miracle, I had separated the dictionary from all the other books and stowed it in with some blankets in a suitcase nearly at the top of the pile. When I finally found it intact after three days of searching, I cried. But it was a total loss on the other 1,500 or so books I owned. I kept pulling them out of soggy boxes and tossed them into a giant garbage pile. By the end it was nearly six feet high and six feet round. There were similar piles for my music collection, clothes, ruined furniture, family photographs, every document I'd ever worked on or studied with, art, my map collection. Almost all gone, but I had the dictionary.
Over a decade later I have come to look at that flood as a cleansing of sorts -- I was freed from having too many possessions, and possessions in general now have less meaning for me. I figure I did need that, or else it wouldn't have happened. Of course I mourned the loss of the special and irreplaceable things but I realized that actual memories are more important. I bought a Kindle and learned to love it. And I still have the dictionary, which is the one single thing I could never live without.
From afar, I wish the same type of outcome for you.
Thank you for sending out this sobering, heartfelt report. My wife, Laura and I deeply appreciate your writing about drylands issues and experiences, an appreciation now joined by relief that you and your family (humans and dogs) are safe, that you’ve found shelter, and are looking forward. Know that you all have well wishes coming your way from some dryland denizens over by the San Juans.
When the flood comes
Oh, Jonathan, I am so very, very sorry! I had been aware of the massive wildfires, but not of the rain. And then to find out that you all were in the middle of such a frightening and heartbreaking event. I wish there were something I could do...talk about feeling helpless. Please know that I am holding you in my heart and my thoughts. With love from your Aunt Charlotte.
It is difficult to read the account of someone I admire relating the chaos, fear and personal loss of climate change. Especially you, Jonathan, who has served as a canary in our coal mine. As Americans especially, but generally as a modern human, we are mostly unfamiliar with the the experience of suffering the consequences of our actions. May you recover safely and redouble your efforts.
PS. I have recorded 13.1 inches of rain at my weather station in Grand Junction.
Best wishes, hoping you and yours are are safe and recovering from the flood events--until humanity at large wises up, which seems unlikely, we are all on track for catastrophic effects of climate change. Keep up your good works. D
Sorry to hear that Jonathan. I hope you guys are fine and stay safe.
wow, Jonathan! what a literal nightmare...and that it happened during lydia's visit?! crazy. glad the most important things are safe. take your time getting back on your feet!
As Dave said (below) you are one of the few who has served as a canary in the coal mine! I'm so sorry for your losses, but glad you & your family (dogs included) have come thru ok. Thats whats important.
Oh no Jonathan ! If you need a place to stay in the States we have the house in Blanco
Wow, what trauma and heartbreak. So glad you and your family are safe and dry.
Let all of us know if there is anything we can do to help with re-establishing your life and home. I’d be honored to make gifts from my library (and Maria’s) to help rebuild yours. And please, take as long a break from Land Desk as needed.
What an awful surprise. Best wishes to you and your family for continued health and safety!
This is terrible news! So sorry for you and your family and all that loss. And also for Greece.
Back in 2012 I lost almost everything I owned in a flood. I packed up the apartment after grad school and had inherited a lot of furniture from my grandfather and decided to go travel for a while. I put it all into two storage units. Then the Susquehanna River decided to rise 20 feet. They called it a 500-year flood that time, because just two years earlier a similar flood had nearly wiped out the whole town and had been chalked up as the 100-year event. I had to race back from Colorado and the entire drive across the country I just kept praying to myself that my father's dictionary would be okay. My entire childhood he would always say, "look it up!" whenever I asked what a word meant. I cherished it, even though it was just a battered old American Heritage dictionary he'd had since high school, with soft worn pages and our last name written in faded black marker on the edge. When I excavated the remains after the flood, by some miracle, I had separated the dictionary from all the other books and stowed it in with some blankets in a suitcase nearly at the top of the pile. When I finally found it intact after three days of searching, I cried. But it was a total loss on the other 1,500 or so books I owned. I kept pulling them out of soggy boxes and tossed them into a giant garbage pile. By the end it was nearly six feet high and six feet round. There were similar piles for my music collection, clothes, ruined furniture, family photographs, every document I'd ever worked on or studied with, art, my map collection. Almost all gone, but I had the dictionary.
Over a decade later I have come to look at that flood as a cleansing of sorts -- I was freed from having too many possessions, and possessions in general now have less meaning for me. I figure I did need that, or else it wouldn't have happened. Of course I mourned the loss of the special and irreplaceable things but I realized that actual memories are more important. I bought a Kindle and learned to love it. And I still have the dictionary, which is the one single thing I could never live without.
From afar, I wish the same type of outcome for you.
So sorry Jonathan. Such a harrowing account. I am glad that you are safe, but I know that the experience is traumatic.
So sorry to hear of the loss of your home and possessions. Let us know if we can help from the Southwest.
Thank you for sending out this sobering, heartfelt report. My wife, Laura and I deeply appreciate your writing about drylands issues and experiences, an appreciation now joined by relief that you and your family (humans and dogs) are safe, that you’ve found shelter, and are looking forward. Know that you all have well wishes coming your way from some dryland denizens over by the San Juans.
Wow, what a story! Thanks for sharing it. Glad to hear that you and your family are OK. Ever forward.
Sorry seems so inadequate. Thank you for sharing your experience. Peace and love.
Spectacular and harrowing, Jonathan. I’m happy you and yours are okay. ✊🏽