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The river has swamped a small town to the southeast of us called Oakville. There is 5-6 feet of water in the town. They thought the levee could hold it, but it didn't. It did help drop our river level and I don't think we're in as much danger anymore. I feel sorry for those people (I have relatives in that town). They did get evacuated in time. There is about 10 feet of water in parts of downtown Columbus Junction. It mainly affected several businesses. I have learned how to sandbag over the past several days. I don't ever want to see another sandbag again (at least, not this year). Hopefully, the river will keep going down and everyone will remain in good spirits. They believe Highway 61 has washed out north of town as well as Highway 99. The current running through there is very swift. 
The flooding has reached record levels. They are evacuating Toddtown (a small town north of Columbus Junction), Fredonia, and Oakville. They have never had to evacuate before. All the major highways north and east of Wapello are under water. Please pray for us. The 99 bridge east of Wapello might collapse which could dam up the river and send it into Wapello (we're on the high side of the river). I have stuff packed up and ready to move if needed (I hope not). Please pray we don't get any more rain (we had five inches on Thursday night which aggravated the situation). I helped sandbag like crazy Thursday afternoon along with hundreds of other people. For those that don't know-Louisa County is in southeast Iowa. The Cedar River flows into the Iowa River just north of Columbus Junction. We getting the flood waters of the Cedar and Iowa Rivers at the same time which is not good (you have probably seen the TV reports of Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, and Coralville). We are south of them. I believe Tae Kwon Do class might be cancelled until the situation improves. Some students will not be able to get there since they're cut off by the Iowa River. Bummer!
For those of you who don't know, there are several rivers in Iowa that will be at record flood crests in a few days. Please pray for these people since it will be historic and devastating. Right now, they're sandbagging in Columbus Jct., Wapello, and Oakville. At least I can get to class when the river floods, but others won't be able to make it when they close the roads. Some are already closed as I type.
We had a small class tonight since people are fighting the flu or going on vacation. We practiced forms, sa ju kong bongs, line training, etc. It was very nice because we could concentrate and help each other out.
I've been working on creating a cane form. It's been a lot of fun to work on and gives me something to do. I'm trying to showcase the strengths and downplay the weaknesses that I have. It's been an educational experience. I do have a Canemasters DVD on traditional & creative forms which has helped a lot.
I had a lot of fun tonight. I was holding one of the small hand targets and watching students when they kick. If their arms flew up, one of the instructors had a padded battlestick and would boink them on the head (it doesn't hurt). The kids did punch-kick combos and kick-kick combos. It was fun!
I went to a small tournament hosted by Morrow's Academy of Martial Arts on 05/10/2008. It was a very nice tournament and I had a lot of fun. I received 4th place in weapons forms doing a cane form in the brown belt division. I also learned how to judge forms and call points in sparring. It was interesting to watch the Karate and Kung Fu competitors. 
We had a very good class tonight. We practice several different kicks and attempted head level kicks. Everyone did very well. I got to instruct the lower ranks on the basic kicks. Next, we practiced board breaking and had a lot of fun with it. I am becoming more flexible and getting my kicks higher. Yeah!
Class was fun! My next-door neighbor boys joined tonight. They have been watching me practice forms in the backyard. I kept telling them when and where class was. One of the boys is a very athletic kicker and he will be a lot of fun to spar once he gets it. He has had prior training and it shows. We practiced kicking, combinations, sa ju kong bongs, and self-defense. It was a lot of fun.
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