(no subject)
The Mississippi is very high right now -- it's rather shocking to look at when I cross it on my commute -- which led to a discussion about various large-scale Midwestern weather events David and I remember. Which led to my looking up the Great Flood of 1993 on Wikipedia, which led to my finding this truly epic gem of fail that I had never seen before:
An Illinois man, James Scott, 23 at the time, was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in causing some of the flooding across the river from Quincy, IL. He was officially convicted for "intentionally causing a catastrophe". Scott removed several sandbags from a levee holding back the water, in an attempt to strand his wife on the other side of the river so he could continue partying.
...so he could continue partying? Seriously? Wow. Just...wow. I don't know if this was a widespread story -- I was all of nine years old when this was going on -- but I had never heard it before.
Anyway, fortunately we don't have to worry about the River -- even though we're only a half mile from it, we're pretty high up. I can't imagine having to go out and sandbag for days and days every spring like some of the folks up north are doing. I read today that this year they pulled the kids out of school in Fargo to help sandbag, since all the college students are gone on spring break. Seems like they ought to be building houses on stilts up there, with as often as it floods catastrophically. >_
An Illinois man, James Scott, 23 at the time, was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in causing some of the flooding across the river from Quincy, IL. He was officially convicted for "intentionally causing a catastrophe". Scott removed several sandbags from a levee holding back the water, in an attempt to strand his wife on the other side of the river so he could continue partying.
...so he could continue partying? Seriously? Wow. Just...wow. I don't know if this was a widespread story -- I was all of nine years old when this was going on -- but I had never heard it before.
Anyway, fortunately we don't have to worry about the River -- even though we're only a half mile from it, we're pretty high up. I can't imagine having to go out and sandbag for days and days every spring like some of the folks up north are doing. I read today that this year they pulled the kids out of school in Fargo to help sandbag, since all the college students are gone on spring break. Seems like they ought to be building houses on stilts up there, with as often as it floods catastrophically. >_