Seeking a Higher Ground – The 2010 Nashville Flood

Seeking a Higher Ground

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. I put this 5-gallon bucket outside my driveway on Friday evening. It was bone dry. This is a picture of it on Sunday afternoon.

It is ironic how when water is everywhere, the one thing that you think you have plenty of is the one thing that you don’t… pure water. That is one of the issues which the Nashville/Middle Tennessee community is dealing with. Several of our utilities including Metro Nashville have pumping and processing stations still under water. Electrical equipment doesn’t work well when submerged 10′ deep.

While Nashville Wraps is high, dry and operating normally, many of our employees are affected by the floods and so are hundreds if not thousands of area residents. My nephew Zack took yesterday off and with the help of a friend got his boat into communities affected by the flooding Cumberland River and helped 100 or more people get to dry land. What those people will do next, no one knows right now. Cars are under water all along the low areas and businesses and homes are flooded.

When I was raised my dad taught me the importance of being in (or out of) a flood plain and the right time to get to higher ground. It is something I will never forget. My Mom called me Saturday night and said she was afraid that the creek would be in her living room. I told her it was impossible; Dad knew where the higher ground was when he built the house. And while the rushing waters were menacing, they could not approach the higher ground. The picture is a view from Mom’s back porch, our pond is at left and the muddy water of Sulfur Fork Creek at right.

In the scriptures Jesus told a parable about the importance of building on a firm foundation. It is a good illustration in today’s troubled times. Whether it is recession, acts of nature or of men, we can survive by building and relying on a firm foundation of solid principles for business and life in general, and of course by knowing when to seek the higher ground.  In times of hardship which affect an entire community, area, state or country, people always come together and help those who they do not know. We all become good neighbors.

I saw something that illustrates this at my own house during the rains. When I walked outside to see what was stopping up the gutters, I noticed there was a snake on the roof. He was simply seeking higher ground. I just smiled and thought that was pretty smart. Friends and foes alike, all are together in these events and are just trying to survive and help each other out. I let him be, which in a small way was really helping him.

Today when you watch the news and wonder what you can do to help, I recommend the following area organizations which are making a difference by providing higher ground and comfort to many Tennesseans.

The Nashville Union Rescue Mission

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

Robby Meadows, Director of Marketing

CYA in Business with a Contingency Plan