and life goes on...?

This happened this weekend:

Over 15 inches of rain this weekend ... already the record for the wetest month of May and it's only the 3rd.  There is this feeling around Nashville today.  It feels like a mix of sadness, nervousness, awe and fear.  I went to work, all dry for me.  I couldn't sit still.  I wanted to volunteer, but when I got an email all the spots were already full.  4,000 people joined Hands on Nashville to volunteer.  So I took a walk.  I took pictures.  Its calming and soothing to take pictures of peaceful nature.

Vanderbilt is preparing for graduation that will happen later this week.

and yet the Cumberland river continues to rise.  It floods over 2nd Avenue taking down the tourist district.  Some where, past the horizon, a river is inching closer.

Chairs are lined up in anticipation.  In a few days this area will be full of smiles and pride as the graduates hug families and cheer on classmates.

"State and Metro efforts are under way to sandbag the MetroCenter levee, which has become a concern today as the Cumberland River water level continues to rise.  The river, which is already above flood level, is now expected to crest at 52.5 feet at 8 p.m. this evening, according to new predictions from the National Weather Service." -- The Tennessean
Yet it still seems so perfect from above.  The beautiful day conceals the horror happening at the ground level.

Tents rise up around Vanderbilt, soon to be filled with happy family and graduates with dreams of the perfect future.  But will they be visiting the bars downtown.  Will they enjoy the Nashville we all love?

As I was walking this guy flew over.  Help is on its way ... but is it too late?

Sure, Nashville will recover ... at least that's what everyone says.  Yes the tourism will return.  Yes the Gaylord Opryland Hotel will rebuild.  But what about the families?  The ones who lost everything ... photos, valuables, items that can never be replaced.  The majority of families who do not have flood insurance because well this was never to happen.  Not here, not where people told them they didn't need the insurance ... they didn't need to worry about floods.  It definitely reminds me that you never know what is coming next, and you never know what you really value until it is taken away.

Photos from The Tennessean