My good friends, Chris, Dave and Todd will performing this Friday night (June 27) at 8pm at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City. This time, Riff Raff Theater will tackle the movie that drove Sean Connery into retirement: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This is the movie that had so much potential that even critics unaware of its legacy couldn’t come up with enough accolades to give this film a more than a ‘mediocre’ rating. Now I love Sean Connery, especially since he is THE best James Bond so far. Not only that, he gave the movie, Highlander, the much needed boost it desperately deserved.

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The horror continues for those attempting to salvage their lives following the major flooding of the downtown Cedar Rapids area. My good friends, Dave and Heather Atwater, have been working their collective butts off trying to do just that. While me and my kids are here in Iowa City, safe and sound, several of my friends have been trudging through the muck. It’s difficult to fathom the monetary damage done by the latest bout of flooding. Even though I can drive through downtown Cedar Rapids along I-380 and barely make out what has been damaged, my com padre’s in the surrounding downtown area tell a different story. My only hope is that Dave (aka Agent Danuuc), Heather, Jenny and Bob can come through all of this OK. I may be asking a lot, but it sure would be nice for people who certainly don’t deserve this kind of hassle.

Got this message from my step-father, Larry Albers:

Mary is still in Surgical ICU at University Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City in Bay#2, Bed#6. I have been reluctant to write due to things changing from day to day with what I write today being incorrect tomorrow!She is approx. 9 days past surgery with her blood pressure sometimes going down when they remove the heart medication completely and her oxygenation being too low to breathe on her own at times. She has had the breathing tube inserted a 2nd time, which is now out again as of Tuesday afternoon. However, she has had to have breathing help during times of sleep with a forced face mask and has a small air mask at other times for assistance.

Her kidney functions have been slightly above average since surgery but are not alarming at this point. Her liver functions were in the normal range several days ago but have been elevated some the past two days. The good news is that she has sat in a chair several times for periods of 2 hours at a time. She is extremely weak and is being fed with a nasal tube only.

Please continue your thoughts and prayers for her recovery. At best, I would guess that she will not get out of the ICU area for at least several more days, providing her breathing can be done without forced aid. Thanks again to all for everything!!

Larry Albers

Mom did have a few rough days immediately after heart surgery. Her breathing became rather labored and her heart-rate was racing like a jack-rabbit. Although she struggled through it, she is still plugging away. I’m sure there were a few days after surgery that she wondered why she chose to have surgery in the first place. How a person recovers from surgery can be awfully difficult to predict. We are glad she’s managed to do as well as she has. Please keep Mom in your hearts and prayers. The entire Albers/Lambing clan will gladly appreciate it.

Last Friday night I gathered some friends together here in Iowa City and had an impromptu Bar-B-Q in the lawn. Angie bought some fancy vegi-brats, while I cooked hamburgers and hot-dogs. We spent the evening marveling about the flooding in Cedar Rapids and the potential disaster encroaching on Iowa City. Just after the sun went down, the Jewish fellow that lives across the street walked over and made an unusual request. He asked if one of us would come over and turn his stove off. In return, he would bring over a 12-pack of Amber Boch to show us his gratitude.

My friends, Seth and Jesse, went across the street and returned shortly with the beer. When we asked why they had to help him turn off his stove, Seth replied that their Sabbath begins at sundown and that by Jewish law, they cannot start or extinguish a flame. Unfortunately, the sun had gone down before the Jewish family had finished cooking, so they were stuck with a heated stove burner.

For the life of us, we couldn’t remember the name of the Jewish man across the street, although we had all spoken with him on occasion. He enjoys walking around the block and we always see him fighting an old lawnmower each time he decides to cut his lawn too short. I finally ran across a picture of him oneline and his efforts during the 2008 flood and now his secret is out. His name is Rabbi Avrohom Blesofsky and he is the co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Iowa City. Apparently, he’s been putting in some considerable effort into the sandbagging activities around Iowa City. He is a character and quite a nice fellow.

Well, sandbagging at the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU) has ground to a halt. Not only has Cedar Rapids been in the news, but Iowa City and all the volunteer efforts on the University of Iowa campus. I took a short bike ride around the IMU in an attempt to determine just how bad this could get. The basin area along the Iowa River is going to take a serious hit if the river rises another couple of feet. It’s not just the IMU, Main Library or the Art Building that is at risk, but the water-treatment facility along the Iowa River near Burlington. If that gets flooded, then our water supply will be seriously affected.

More pictures around the Iowa Memorial Union are here.

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Well, now it’s known across that land that Eastern Iowa is in a world of hurt. It simply won’t stop raining and the land has been saturated since Spring began. Many of the farmers in the area haven’t been able to plant, as the fields have been too sloppy. Those that have planted are having to plant again. No wonder corn and bean prices are going through the roof.

The kids and I are here in Iowa City and what we’ve been watching around the Iowa River area has been awe inspiring. I just started work in Cedar Rapids and now I can’t even get to work. Not only is I-380 a mess, but the downtown area is under 2 to 3 feet of water. Since my mother went into surgery here at the University of Iowa Hospitals, my sister, Michele, and step-sister, Beth, have been in Iowa City. But, they can’t stay here forever. So, they both plan on leaving Iowa City Friday morning, but as of now, Beth can’t get back to Chicago on I-80 because it’s closed just West of Iowa City. Larry, as well as the rest of the family in Benton County, will also have a difficult trek to Iowa City, as they might close I-380 if the flooding gets worse.

Jared and I have spent a couple days at the IMU on the University of Iowa campus filling sandbags. I’m sure we’ll be shoveling sand for a couple days until this all resolves.

I found a link to a story on the current Eastern Iowa flood here.

Agent Peeps posted some pictures of her building’s evacuation in Cedar Rapids here.

More to come as the week progresses.

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The kids have been working hard on snapping photographs of the more locally famous Iowa City landmarks this summer. So far, the work has been rather good. The family has been playing the University of Iowa version of Monopoly called, “Iowopoly”, the past couple years. The goal will be to take the best pictures and glue them to the original gameboard. Here’s some more pictures:

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