Yesterday, the City and local officials commemorated the 5-year anniversary of the sounding of the sirens. Back in 2011, those sirens signaled the start of the flood. Their sound lasted only a few minutes; the water stayed for weeks. And the ripples of its effect will be bouncing around Minot for decades to come.
There’s nothing we can do about that. Life says we must push forward, and we have to wear the scars we earned.
Yesterday’s speeches focused on those things we should be proud of — things like the fact that we had so few people in shelters, the myriad of different ways people stepped up to help, the speed at which many homes were rebuilt and occupied. That’s good; we should be proud of those things. They mark the type of community we live in. Minot was a good place to be in a bad time.
But sometimes it sucks having to put on a happy face. The flood took a lot from us. For some, it took everything; for some, it’s still taking. And for the most deeply impacted, the recovery is not something that will one day end. Like an alcoholic, there are many among us who will be in flood recovery for the rest of their lives.
So, in the spirit of flood recovery, what better way than to offer up a chance at some affordable flood therapy? If the occasion of 5-years-later put you in a funk or foul mood or tweaked an angry or reflective bone, here’s your chance to get it off your chest.
It’s not often that you’ll get to write (and possibly publish) anonymously on The Minot Voice because for most community discourse, anonymously isn’t healthy. But with flood therapy, it’s the exact opposite. Think of it the same way you would the ritual of Catholic confession. What you write here, stays here.
So, in the spirit of a Flood Festivus, tell us all the ways in the which the water, the aftermath, or whatever displeased you. The ground rules are outlined below, once you get through them, you can begin.
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