Artist looking at Nature's Fury

Artist looking at Natural Disasters
 Thomas Hart Benton
Flood

Flood by Thomas Hart Benton                                                google image

Tampa, Florida on Bayshore Blvd.   Flooding from Tropical Storm Debby
google imgage

Flood by Thomas Hart Benton    google image

Storm surge Tropical Storm Debby,  Florida

Flooding by Frank Forward   google image

River Flooding from Tropical Storm Debby

One of my very earliest memories as a child of 3 or 4 was of a flood.  We lived in a city where two major rivers convened and at that point no dams had been built to protect the town.  I can recall my teacher Mother saying to me. "Betsy, come here here and watch the floor furnace, if the water comes through, come get me."  of course I thought I had an important job and that was Mother's intent, as well as, keeping me calm and busy.  I remember also a small motor boat coming to our porch bringing groceries and asking us if we were all right and did we want to leave.  Floods have always been in my dreams my whole life.  Today in Tampa and in Florida the waters are receding and the rivers have reached their peak.  It is now clean up time and back to normal until the next tropical storm or hurricane....it is summer on the Gulf Coast!