The Flood of '64

I, as well as Shusli, was born in this hospital. Me in '64, Shusli in 58'. It is here where things begin and return in full circle. Shusli and I were both born here in Coos Bay, Oregon, and have returned here all these years later.

This is where my days journey begins, 44 years ago. "And so it goes." --Kurt Vonnegut

In December of the year I was born, just before Christmas, came the great flood of '64. This is a photo of Reedsport back in that day. A day in which my mother told me all my Christmas presents for my first Christmas were in a closet and destroyed in the flood.
The little tavern sign in the back to the left was one of my family's favorites places to go out and get drunk. If you click on the photo, it should enlarge and you will see the name Rainbow Tavern. This is where, when I was 5 years old, Grandma got in a bar brawl getting an early start on the days drunk. I thought it was so cool, but my mother was dragging me out of there fast. Grandma, never over 5' tall, hovered over a woman she just knocked off a bar stool. "GET UP! YOU WANT SOME MORE! GET UP!"
And in '64 and '65 I made two attempts to escape you all. Sometimes things are just too much, even when you are small. First, I had hydroencephilitis, and it went away on it's own. The doctors said they could do nothing. The next was pneumonia. I spent five days in an oxygen tent. I didn't manage my escapes, and I'm here, dad, grandma, and grandpa, to tell a story of a full circle.

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