A River of Tears

Fort Calgary, and the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, Friday morning

Last Thursday morning, the first wave of water barrelled down Cougar Creek in Canmore, and since then, life's been interesting here, to say the least. Many areas of Calgary were eventually evacuated (up to 100,000 people, or about 10% of our population), although I was lucky enough to find myself high and dry. Sadly, it appears that all of High River (about 45 minutes south of the city) is an entire write-off as well.


Fort Calgary, and the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, Saturday day morning

Following the instructions of our mayor, I've been happy enough to stay home, with the odd foray to the grocery store for necessities. Not crazy enough to try to take the car anywhere, because I was flanked east and west by emergency evacuations, closed roads/bridges, so getting anywhere was problematic at best.


Fort Calgary, and the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, Sunday morning

So I've made great strides reading my current book (Patton: Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago), and am almost finished it. If it sounds like dry reading, it isn't: this was one of the primary sources for the script for the movie Patton, and I've found it fascinating to see sections that were lifted straight from the book, some that were combined, and other incidents that were either gently or not-so-gently manipulated.


Fort Calgary, and the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, this morning

Apart from a neighbourhood gathering I had committed to go to last week, truth be told, I haven't been great company in the last few days, knowing that today would be another one of those difficult days, and it has been, although less so than the two previous birthdays. Unlike last year, when I was where we scattered the ashes, I've tried to make today the sort we would have together, and that's been a good thing.

Plus this year's mopey with moments of weepy is infinitely better than last year's hysterical shrieking.