Recovery

I know, in my heart, that things are going to get better in Cedar Rapids. Until that happens, however, it's going to be a long, emotional journey.

I got my first real glimpse at the flood-ravaged community last Saturday when I was covering a community clean-up day at the Mother Mosque of America. To get to the mosque from my newspaper's downtown office meant driving through the empty and desolate downtown, with many storefronts filled with broken windows and the sidewalks filled with soggy drywall and rotted furniture.

That part of the journey, however, only barely braced me for the second half: the mosque is located in the middle of the neighborhood that got hit first and, probably, worst. Driving through the streets, made one-lane by the Dumpsters, trucks and debris, was like driving through a war zone. House after house after house had not just a few belongings in the yard and curbside -- entire lives were stacked for all the world to see. Toys, furniture, clothing. A gas grill hung upside down in a tree in front of one home.

The city is filled with stories like this, streets still filled with remnants of what used to be. But it's also getting filled with more positive stories: a 14-year-old girl who moved from Cedar Rapids with her family two years ago and now lives in Tyler, Texas, started what she thought would be a small donation drive for things she and her siblings could drive back when they came to visit their father. The donations -- gathered over just two days -- instead filled two semi-trailer trucks.

One local bank, after learning that flood victims were being charged $2 each time they used their Red Cross ATM cards, found a way for the holders to access the funds without paying the fee.

Donation drop sites are actually making lists of things they no longer need, such as clothing, because the supply had been so great.

This is why I love Cedar Rapids, and this is why I believe, with all my heart, that the city will not only recover but will excel in its results.