Two feet high and risin’

I had some other posts ready for this week, but yesterday I found myself obsessively checking around on various websites to see where the Mississippi River’s water was, and this brought to mind Johnny Cash’s song about the 1937 Flood, the one we’ve all been hearing so much about recently:

And of course, that song reminded me of the ultimate Flood song, although it’s become more associated with Katrina now, “Louisiana” by Randy Newman. It’s really hard to beat the sentence, “The President say, “Little fat man, isn’t it a shame what the river has done To this poor cracker’s land.”

Speaking of the 1927 Flood it’s helpful to look at a map showing the extent of the flooding in that epic year. We keep hearing that this flood might be “as high as the 1937 flood” or “close to the 1927 flood,” but not having lived through those floods, I’ve had a hard time picturing what these statements mean, even after reading about the ’27 flood for years. This map is available on both the United States Digital Map Library and the MDAH website–both sites contain a treasure trove of other interesting historical maps in digital form.

If you’re traveling in the lower Delta in the next couple of weeks, pay attention to road closures. Don’t get stuck or put yourself in danger trying to site see!

And in answer to the question, “How high is the water, Momma?” as of yesterday at 1:38 PM, it had reached the Levee Street Depot in Vicksburg.