With each day bringing horrific new insight and ever more uncertainty regarding the oil spill in the Gulf, it’s now more important than ever to become educated and aware about the world we live in. With that in mind, my wife Kelly and I have decided to start our own news blog site, The Normand Post. This forum which will exist to explore the problems facing humanity and all of the planetary systems, and start an open-ended dialogue to help create solutions.

In the meantime, I will continue my efforts to document the Tennessee flood, writing blogs and articles for my own site, and other websites as well.

One recent news story in Nashville, examined the temporary dumping station at Edwin Warner park for the massive amount of storm debris being collected around middle Tennessee. Every day a fleet of trucks makes rounds collecting piles of house debris, appliances, drywall, just about anything you can think of, and bring it to this temporary holding station where it is then trucked off to landfills throughout the state.  I decided to take a drive by there today to see it firsthand. The debris is piled as high as the trees, on an area the size of a football field, and is a quite disheartening sight to see alongside some kids playing a game of soccer. Yesterday,  when I went to the local dump near my house in Cheatham County, I noticed three large dump trucks dumping there, obviously part of this debris removal. What I found disturbing, was the mile-long trail of dirt leaving the dump in either direction, obviously spill off of what must be a now constant parade of  trucks now dumping here from all over. More on that later.

I’ve also uploaded a new slideshow containing most of the flood and aftermath photos I have taken, with captions.

If you’ve been following my blog over the past week and a half, I’m sure you’re aware of what’s happened here in Tennessee. While I consider myself extremely lucky to not have lost anything in this flood, the experience of it all has, nevertheless, been exhausting. Being trapped in our home without power for three days, seeing the raging waters come within a half-mile of my home, watching the totality of this horrifying event on the local news in the days afterwards, and then observing the devastation in my community firsthand. And I have it easy. Some of my friends have lost all their musical equipment that was being stored at the Soundcheck rehearsal facility. For others across the state of Tennessee, losses go well beyond musical equipment.

Even though my family, home, or possessions are intact, being on the cusp of a disaster of this magnitude will inevitably change a person in some ways. We had several days of sunshine, thankfully, in the days immediately after the rain stopped. But then, rain was forecast for the weekend. Even though it was only predicted to be an inch or so, the thought of any rain at all, is now disturbing. I have awoken a few times in the middle of the night to visions of the brown murky floodwaters. You can’t drive very far in middle Tennessee without seeing flood damaged buildings, roads, and other ominous reminders. It’s been difficult to focus on many daily routines and tasks, but I am fighting my way back, and it is slowly getting better.

The main goal of this blog, initially, was to focus on the music business and other music related topics, as I am a musician by trade. But it’s been a battle to get my mind out of the storm, back to the business of music, and back to my nearly completed book project “The Nashville Musician’s Survival Guide”. It now seems so ironic that my book is about what it takes for a musician to survive the music business of Nashville, and now Nashville itself is faced with a plight for its own survival.

I will say that writing this blog over the past week and a half has been therapeutic for me. Kind of my own rebuilding process. I’m still thoroughly disappointed in the national media, and feel like we’ve been robbed. First we were raped and pillaged by the storm itself, and then to add insult to injury, ignored by the national media, as if our dire situation was insignificant. In the absence of a media based on real, Edward R. Murrow style journalism, I think it is now extremely important for all concerned citizens to help spread pertinent news stories that aren’t getting told. I have submitted my article “We Are Tennessee; Surviving the Flood of 2010” to several local and national print publications in an attempt for this story to gain further attention. And I will continue to write a few more blogs about our situation, as the struggle for Tennessee to rebuild will go on long after this story fades from the news.

In the days and weeks to come, I will also be working towards getting my head back into music, as well as tackling the seemingly impossible task of completing a book that is 95% done (it feels like the last 5% will drag on longer than the health care debate did). I will finish this book, as I feel compelled to do so, and know it will help many musicians. Of course, I will now have to add one more chapter about flood survival. In the meantime, I will continue working on getting back to normal.

The news of this disaster is getting out there. Volunteers are arriving from all over the country to help rebuild our communities, and we are truly grateful for this outpouring of goodwill. To help rally more support for the relief effort, I have rewritten my blog from last Wednesday, “We Are Tennessee”. This version paints a more total picture of the flood event and how the emergency response and recovery efforts have been handled so far. I realize it’s a bit long for a blog, but it’s a big story. Please help continue to spread the word. Peace

The rain began falling on the morning of Saturday, May 1st, 2010, and by the time it finished, just under 48 hours later; it had dumped between 12 and 20 inches across Middle and Western Tennessee, rendering 52 of Tennessee’s 95 counties disaster areas. Rivers that normally spanned 100 feet across swelled to widths of a half-mile or more, flooding cities, towns, and roadways, washing away homes and bridges, destroying businesses and infrastructure, and leaving thousands homeless. People died in their cars while trapped on flooding interstates and thousands more were stranded in remote communities without power or communication for days. Water plants were decimated, the Grand Ole’ Opry and many other historic buildings and icons damaged or destroyed, and more than $1 billion of damage had been sustained in Nashville alone. And where was our national media in all of this?

It’s now more than a week after this catastrophe began, and I’m still having a hard time grasping the totality of what has happened here. Each new conversation with family members and friends back in my native New England leaves me dumbfounded as to how little they’ve heard about this epic 1000-year flood, many first hearing about it from my phone calls and e-mails. Even a friend that I spoke with in eastern Tennessee was completely unaware that the western half of the state had just experienced what is likely to be the costliest non-hurricane water related disaster in American history. During the flood, and in the days that followed, mainstream news stations like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, provided minimal coverage of this disaster, dwarfed by the Gulf oil spill, and the New York City car bomber. While those stories are certainly important, an event of this magnitude surely warrants more than just a sentence or two in the national spotlight.

Maybe there’s another reason the media paid so little attention, that being the efficient manner in which this disaster was handled. This disaster, which caused evacuations, power outages, and gridlock all over the state, was not accompanied by looting or other kinds of chaos that might otherwise have drawn the media in. The storm came quickly and without warning, decimating communities and infrastructure statewide, and all levels of government combined with an army of volunteers quickly began to mobilize.

“The President was on the phone to me before the sun came up practically on Monday morning” stated Governor Bredesen. “Slightly after it came up, other people from the White House had called and checked in. I’m very, very pleased with the response we’ve gotten from the administration.” he continued. FEMA administrator Craig Fugate, along with Bredesen and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, toured flooded areas later in the day. By Tuesday several counties had been declared federal disaster areas, which began to allocate necessary funding for the relief effort. Approximately 80 members of the Tennessee National Guard, manning 19 light to medium tactical vehicles engaged in water rescues and evacuations. The Red Cross was here helping organize relief efforts early on as well. Citizens interacted with local media to help present 24 hour news coverage during the event, as local Nashville and Memphis television stations received 40,000 photos and videos from viewers in the first 48 hours.

In the center of this immediate and massive effort were the people of Tennessee, with thousands of volunteers engaging from the onset, working as one unified collective with the various government agencies. From the very beginning of this disaster, a spirit of goodwill was evident.

One of my neighbors informed me that on Sunday, day two of the flood, the Publix in Bellevue used generator power to open the store, despite the electricity being down in that area. In addition to making food, water, and ice available, they also set up a long line of tables on which power strips were placed for local residents to charge cell phones. During the flood event, thousands of volunteers responded to different newscast announcements, showing up at multiple locations to help fill sandbags, assist with boat rescues, as well as a variety of other relief efforts. Community centers and churches across the state became havens for families who lost homes. Schools became water distribution centers. A local construction company owner who was being interviewed on the news said that he already began fixing the roads in his area, as the county road crews were overwhelmed. When officials announced the need to conserve water, water usage almost immediately decreased.

Wednesday, just four days after the flood began, marked the beginning of a three-day flood relief telethon in which many volunteers, including Titans head coach Jeff Fisher and several country music stars, came together to man the phones and help raise money for flood relief. Taylor Swift donated $500,000, with Vince Gill and several others making large donations as well. Benefit concerts are being announced daily. Nashville Mayor Dean announced that the demand for volunteers was going to steadily increase in the weeks and months to come, and people are responding.

This tragic event of epic proportions is the worst disaster to hit the state of Tennessee since the Civil War, yet our communities are working together. Under the exemplary leadership of Governor Bredesen, combined with the full cooperation of a wide range of local, state, and federal government agencies, the people, the ordinary citizens of this great state are having a huge impact. Neighbors are helping neighbors, people are donating and volunteering, and this event has helped create a sense of unity that is truly magical.

We are not begging the world for help, but to rebuild the communities across this state now shattered by this catastrophe, further assistance will be necessary. Thousands of the homes that were damaged or destroyed were in areas not in flood zones, leaving many homeowners with mortgages on homes that no longer exist, and without insurance money to rebuild. The same is true for many business owners as well. Many schools, hospitals, nursing homes, water treatment facilities, roads, bridges, rail systems, and other infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed over an area that spans thousands of square miles. This kind of damage can’t be repaired with just volunteer organizations alone, it’s going to cost billions of dollars and the money has to come from somewhere. In addition to losing their homes and all their possessions, thousands of Tennesseans have also lost their jobs and livelihoods, and this will inevitably put further strain on already stressed entitlement programs. This event has affected over half the counties in the state of Tennessee, not just the city of Nashville as the national media has implied, and it is this message that should be put forth.

Perhaps some good can come out of this catastrophe. This disaster has not just brought us closer together as a community, it stands to be a model of how our government can, and should work. A reminder of why government exists in the first place. With so many mounting problems in America today, it is encouraging that our leaders acted so quickly in this moment of despair, and the spirit of community and compassion this event has ignited should be a reminder of all that is good about America, and what we can do when we put our minds together.

So while the people of Tennessee are rebuilding, most of the nation has yet to learn of our predicament and it is unlikely that most will ever know the full extent of what has happened. We will survive, rebuild, and emerge from this wreckage, but as this news has been slow to reach the masses, I urge you all to help spread the word.  Natural disasters on this level affect everybody as we are all interconnected. After Katrina, thousands of hurricane refugees relocated to neighboring states, Tennessee among them, and this flood event will inevitably have its own unique set of social and economic impacts that will be far-reaching as well. For many that lived through it, it’s possibly the single most important event of our lifetimes, its significance monumental. In the difficult weeks and months ahead, the people of Tennessee will continue to live, work, and reach out to those in need, because we are all in this together. We are Tennessee, and we are America.

If you need flood relief assistance or would like to volunteer or make donations, please visit the following websites:

Tennessee Emergency Management – www.tnema.org

Middle Tennessee Red Cross Chapters – www.nashvilleredcross.org

Hands on Nashville – www.hon.org

You can also dial 211 for volunteer opportunities if you live in Middle Tennessee

Yesterday, my wife and I took a drive to Percy Warner Park, one of our favorite spots in middle Tennessee. The Warner Parks are over 3000 acres of exceptionally maintained nature reserves, with a nature center, miles of hiking trails, playgrounds, and picnic areas. Unfortunately, neither the Percy Warner Park nor the adjacent Edwin Warner Park escaped the wrath of this terrible flood.

As we drove into the Highway 100 entrance, the first thing we noticed was the road to the main parking lot was blocked. We were encouraged to see 20 or so cars parked alongside  the entrance road, and several families picnicking in the immediate area, attempting to return to some kind of normalcy after such a horrific week. Upon walking past the barrier and down the main entrance road, we noticed caution tape around the playground which had been damaged by the waters. A little further down the paved road, we came to the open sided shed at the beginning of the trailhead, upon which a sign had been placed notifying us that the hiking trails are now closed due to dangerous conditions. A few feet beyond the shed we could see large sections of trail washed away leaving a twisted maze of root structures now exposed. A little ways up one of the paved roads we saw damaged trees, a few random piles of sticks and twigs, and gullys carved by rushing water along the sides of the road.

We couldn’t help but feel a little bit selfish in our newfound sadness. As so many families and individuals lost homes, businesses, and even loved ones, our thoughts of remorse over damaged hiking trails and playgrounds seems insignificant. But the Percy Warner Parks, like many parks throughout the state, represent a certain faction of daily life for many in middle Tennessee, and their preservation is a part of our heritage, so it was still painful to see the destruction. I know the parks will be fixed in time, but I’m sure their priority is lower, understandably, than the dire need to rebuild lives, homes, businesses, infrastructure, and communities across the state.

On a brighter note, the Steeplechase was held in the equestrian center area of the park this past Saturday, and thousands turned out for this annual event. While some have criticized the event for still moving forward, stating people shouldn’t be out having fun when so much cleanup is still needed, these critics were obviously unaware that the proceeds of this years steeplechase were being donated to relief efforts. It also helped many to begin to feel a little normal again.

The funny thing is, that the park, in reality, is fine. The trees are still growing, the streams are still flowing, and the birds are still singing, and they will continue doing so. It is our access that has been cut off. In the meantime, there are still some areas of the park that can be enjoyed, and I suppose we should at least be thankful for that. It was still a sad day at the park.

To see some more photos of park damage, follow this link to where another Tennessean has posted a photo journal of what he saw shortly after the flood.

It’s now Sunday, eight days into this new world of a waterlogged state of Tennessee. And although the Gulf oil spill is still the lead story in the national media, about to decimate ecosystems and local fishing industries across the Gulf, I just read an article that suggested the floodwaters in Tennessee could impact the Gulf fishing industry as well. Local fishermen in Gulf communities are fearing that as the floodwaters from the Cumberland River empty into the Mississippi River, the inherent rushing waters will push a large portion of fish into the oil. So far, most of my writings about this disaster, as well as the writings of others, has been about the effect that this flood has had on the people of Tennessee including the loss of life, the destruction of homes, businesses, and infrastructure. But what kind of effect will the flood have on nature, ecosystems, wildlife, and the environment at large? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, we will continue cleaning up, rebuilding, and moving ahead. I urge you all to help continue spreading the news of this disaster, as the minimal national media coverage we have received, will likely fade in the weeks to come.

If you would like to learn more about what is happening here, there are a series of well written articles that can be found at www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/tennessee-flooding. A telling photo journal can be viewed at www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/flooding_in_tennessee.html. And the following YouTube video also sends a strong message www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFjaQoOdJvI

It’s now Saturday, May 8th, one week into this life changing event, and I find myself feeling still off balance, having difficulty focusing on some of life’s normal routines. The images of an ocean of brown murky water coming within a half-mile of our house, cars submerged on interstate lakes, and neighborhood houses underwater continue to work their way towards the front of my mind.

Last night I worked in a nightclub in Bellevue, a gig I’ve played countless times before. As a musician, I had been looking forward to a night of music with friends, hoping and expecting it would help return some of us to some kind of normalcy. It was the first time I’d seen these friends since before the flood, and it was pretty hard to talk about anything other than the weeks catastrophic events.

My friend Nick from Bellevue was home Saturday when the rain first began, and lost electricity sometime that night. On Sunday, still without electricity, he was unaware of what was going on, and decided to drive down to see an afternoon movie. As he approached the movie theater, he was horrified when he saw the entire building submerged in three or four feet of water. My friend Danny from Kingston Springs, lives on a Hill, and while his family and home are fine, some nearby houses had been washed away. He had also learned that the Harpeth River near his house, normally spanning 115 feet across, had swelled to a staggering 2900 feet in width. Another friend, Doug from Bellevue, said that his home was fine, but other homes nearby were damaged or destroyed. Doug works as a plumber, and revealed that he’s already been fixing water damaged boilers, and while he believes many units can be saved, he is hearing about some profiteers claiming all water damaged boilers need to be replaced. Yet another friend, Pam, also from Bellevue, told us of working at the now filled to capacity Microtel Inn, where her duties now include shuttling flood refugees back and forth from the hotel to local stores to buy bare essentials. Everybody I spoke to had been touched by this event in one way or another, and we are all feeling a deep sense of connection, as this new common ground we will forever now share.

We started playing music around 7 PM, and the experience was almost surreal. I remember playing songs, yet feeling completely disconnected from the activity I was partaking in, almost as if I was watching myself from the other side of the room. The notes were all coming out right, but my mind was 1000 miles away, struggling to push back the images of horror that occupied my mind. The first 50 minute set seemed to happen in slow motion, with little reaction from the room full of somber patrons, eating their dinners and talking quietly. The night felt heavy and sluggish, and what is usually a warm-up set for our typically spirited group, felt more like a funeral march. Although the next set was more of the same, we were able to shake off some of this weight for the final part of the night, the music finally cutting through this dense air of disaster.

On the local news this morning, I learned that Hickman County, 50 miles southwest of Nashville, has been hit exceptionally hard by this flood, as over 100 bridges throughout the county have been crippled or destroyed. “The town of Centreville, and much of Hickman County, for four days, was an island unto itself, with no radio stations, no telephone service, AT&T or cellular, it was all out” stated Centreville’s mayor, Bob Bond. The county is still in emergency response mode, and thousands of feet of water line have been destroyed, rendering drinking water for the county’s 20,000 residents unsafe for the next 2 to 4 months.

Another news story told of concern for some of Davidson county’s immigrant communities, where many are still residing in water drenched apartment complexes. Although officials are trying to get them to relocate to shelters, many won’t leave, as they will lose their jobs if they aren’t at their usual place of residence for daily transportation pickups.

These kinds of stories are expanding exponentially, and although my family and I haven’t been injured or lost any physical possessions, we have been forever changed. We feel exposed and vulnerable, with a strange state of uncertainty now deeply embedded in our psyche. Many others we have spoken to have shared similar sentiments. It’s almost as if we were raped, held down and pinned to the wall by a mysterious powerful force for which there was no defense. I can’t imagine the feelings held by those who have it much worse, losing homes, businesses, everything, some even losing their loved ones, and my heart goes out to them.

I know things will improve slowly over time, and hopefully there will be a return to some kind of normalcy in the weeks and months ahead. But it is likely to be a new kind of normalcy, because so much has changed. For once you have lived through an event of this magnitude, seeing the devastation firsthand, and hearing the stories of those suffering, you are forever changed. The time is now for the people of Tennessee to be strong, hold your heads up, and move forward with strength, conviction and unity. I believe the human spirit is strong, and if we open our hearts and minds, we can, and will survive.