Down in the Flood

Well, that high tide's risin',
Mama, don't you let me down.
Pack up your suitcase,
Mama, don't you make a sound.
Now, it's king for king,
Queen for queen,
It's gonna be the meanest flood
That anybody's seen.
— Bob Dylan, "Down in the Flood"


It's raining in Ohio, and the river is rising. That's causing some problems in Cincinnati, which (in case you didn't know) is right on the river. We're not in any peril; we live in the College Hill area, highly elevated with reference to the river. It would take a flood of truly Noachian proportions to threaten us. But many are hampered today, at least, and some are in danger.

I'm mainly worried about Marietta, though. Marietta is a beautiful little town in south-east Ohio, and one of the oldest towns in the US outside of the thirteen original colonies. It's been slammed twice this season by floods, as this picture shows. Wherever you see brown, that's where the river went:



Last June Amy and I spent a few days in Marietta, soaking in the historical ambience (Lafayette once visited there) and looking for 19th century gravesites (but that's another story). We stayed in the Lafayette Hotel, which is this building in the above picture:



It's right there next to the river, and I mean just a few yards. Right now the river has closed the gap and is moving up Pike Street. Here's wishing them the best and a full recovery.

By the way, the Lafayette Hotel is supposed to be haunted, as we found out after we stayed there. Fortunately, we didn't stay on the floor where the apparitions are supposed to appear.