Sunday, September 26, 2010

Driving Underwater

This past Thursday, Thursday night and most of Friday, it rained...a lot. I think it rained on the entire state of Minnesota. Most of the rain came down hard in the southeastern part of the state where my parents live and hometown is. It rained so much that there was widespread flooding around the area. Every little river in the southeastern corner of the state overflowed their banks to incredible proportions and caused serious problems in a wide spread area.

One of the most devastated areas from this rain storm was a little town called Zumbro Falls, only several miles from my home. The town is made up of only several hundred people but there are many businesses and homes that make up several blocks of the downtown area. All of it was underwater flooding homes all the way up to the second story windows. It was so high that there was a random canoe found on top of a roof. The only gas station in town was completely underwater.
It is a terrible disaster for the people of Zumbro Falls and surrounding communities to deal with. Homes will be impossible to clean up and salvage with the incredible amount of mud in the flood waters.

Here are some pictures after the waters receded for a few days.
















Another town near my home that was effected by the flooding was Oronoco. The flood waters were so strong that they caused a bridge to collapse from being washed away.


Some waters were so high in areas that bridges were even under water. Thankfully there were no casualties from the flooding. Hopefully the families affected by the floods will receive all the help they can get and more.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

The NFL

The NFL season is finally back! And I am more excited than ever to watch it. Last year ended in heartbreak for my Minnesota Vikings. It was a tough loss to deal with, but without a doubt the most exciting season for the Vikes in a long time. With the addition of Brett Favre the Vikings found new life and an increased competitive edge. I think everyone in who was a Minnesota fan believed the Purple People Eaters would make it to the Super Bowl and ultimately win it. As a native Minnesotan, I can attest to the fact that we don't like to be overly optimistic about things, which is why it went against our nature to believe so heavily in what seemed like a guaranteed thing. Lesson learned.

Well, on top of the NFC Championship loss, Minnesota fans had to deal with not knowing if #4 would come back for another season. I think everyone put it in the back of their minds; no sense in stressing for months, why not just save it for the start of training camp. I'm sure you're well aware of the drama that Minnesota fans dealt with during the first few weeks of practice this year. Not too fun, and all too familiar. Anyways, the Silver Fox came back and hopes are up again, sort of. I'll have plenty to write about the Vikings this year I'm sure.

Another thing I want to mention about the NFL happened in a game today. The Lions and Da Bears were playing and there was a play that has caused a lot of controversy. Check the play out. What was an obvious touchdown was called incomplete. It is shocking, and ridiculous. I could care less about the Detroit Lions, but they were robbed of a win today. At least Calvin Johnson will get a lot of air time as football analyst talk about the play he was the victim of for at least the next week. I still do not understand how the touchdown did not stand. The commentators during the game said there is a "process" for making a legal catch. The player must have complete control of the ball before they hit the ground, but obviously this catch was in complete control. I think there needs to be an immediate review of this rule. I'm a little concerned touchdowns will become more subjective than objective.