Flood Line

I was at our plot in the country today -- where I had a lively discussion with an old lady. The issue was floods (we are planning to build something small). I told her that the village had recently experienced the worst floods in living memory, and we would build above the flood line. She said nonsense, I'll tell you about living memory and it's a wonder that it's living. OBSERVATION: I based my "living memory" estimate on the size of the trees that were recently uprooted, and the fact that the river radically changed its course (among other things). She seemed to focus on subjective experience. While most of our plot was recently hit by flood water, we plan to build on a part that wasn't -- and to build for an even bigger flood.