Flood Waters Rising

Story about my Dad

Sometimes I write because I want to. Most times it's because I am compelled by something so hard to explain that it becomes a challenge to bring it to light. Everybody knows you never challenge a Southern born man to anything. Things we hold dear are our Family,Honor,and just plain stubbornness. If you want to know what's on our mind just simply ask us. We have no secrets. Lord knows we have no shame. Our pride makes decisions at times that a smart man most certainly wouldn't make. We are masters at masking what hurts us. Everybody knows "Men don't cry". But on the other hand, if our friends are suffering. We'll be the first to shed a tear. And the last to leave until we know they are safe. In many ways we are old Fashion. Yet always learning new things. Sometimes our hunger for adventure gets us into trouble. Sometimes it nearly gets us Killed...........................

Flood Water's Rising

The telephone rings loudly on this crisp October Morning. Skeet fumbles for the receiver in his slumbered state. The voice on the other end sounded worried. It had been raining for almost two weeks without an end in sight. "Get here yesterday" was all Skeet heard before the line went dead.

Skeet was a large man. Standing well over six feet tall. He hurriedly dressed to the sounds of Annie's muffled snore, as she smiled sheepishly in some far away dream. How he wished he had more time to spend with the kids and her. Since he was promoted to Captain the job has become his family. Isn't this exactly what he worked so hard for? With the extra duty on the Dive Team they could finally afford that Vacation he had been promising for years.

He clutched the Mic in his hand as he flipped on the siren. His designation was miles from here But the traffic was in his favor this day. The cars in front parted. Like that story with the sea. Skeet radioed ahead to find out what was in store.

They had built a Dam years ago to supply water to Jacob Falls. With all the rain it must be closed in order to keep this town from being totally lost. For reasons unknown at the time the Flood Gates would not close. It was Skeet's job to go down and find out why. On a normal day this wouldn't be such a big feat. But since the flood waters had raged so long. This 40 foot dive had become treacherous. The debris in the water alone could kill a man. The swift currents only added to the danger.. The risk of being sucked into the dams swift gates was solely dependent on the strength of a nylon rope

.Large bubbles rise to the surface as Skeet makes his assent into the murky river. His sight is useless thanks to the muddy current. 40 feet below he finds a large log jammed into the gates. He slowly rises back to the surface to give his report.

Annie finished breakfast as the scent of fresh Biscuit's fill the room. All four kids waste no time in devouring whats placed before them. Faced with a day of staying indoors. Will this rain ever end?

Skeet shivered from the cold as they devised a plan. Even with a Wet Suit. On a crisp day the effects of the cold would only let you stay under briefly. He had to work fast. If all went well he would attach a chain to the log and the rest was simply out of his hands.

He gave the signal with a tug of a rope. The Crane started to pull. He felt the massive log break free of it's binds as he guided it blindly with his hands. For a brief moment his thoughts went home to his wife and his kids.

The shock of the blow stunned him. He was hit from behind. The chain that carried his days work to the surface had snapped. The large log pinned him to the rivers bottom. He thrashed around helplessly until he gathered his wit. He was trained to not panic."You must always remain calm". Trapped with only minutes of air was not really in the books. The situation was getting dire.With every minute that would go by. He only had about five minutes of air. But the cold water frightened him more.

With every tick of his watch. He felt less and less afraid. Hadn't he not just saved a whole town from doom? His actions this day will enable some family to have that Cook Out in their backyard. Little Kenny's Play House will still be there after the rains. Susan can still marry at Grandma's house because her yard never looked so good.

From this point on the story gets real because God showed up this day. Maybe it was the current? That log just drifted away.

With only a minute of air Skeet had to make his assent really fast. Due to the Pressure he blew out his Ear Drum and is deaf on that side to date. He did make it home safely. Has hundreds of dives since then. The names have been changed. But the stores the same.. You see........Skeet was my father...This REALLY happened... And boy am I proud of him..................kuntry

Reviews

[LizLadyNinja]

Great story, glad to know that every thing worked out for you and your family. Thanks for entering the contest. I don't feel right critiquing this story. So you'll have to excuse me while I make this review short. Thanks for sharing!