On that Saturday night, I had been in downtown Ellicott City to show a guest from Slovenia, Karin, our quaint little town. My long-time friend Carol would be leading a Sierra Club trip in the fall to Slovenia, so I invited her along for an opportunity to talk to a native. It had been a beautiful summer day, with a slight chance of rain in the forecast. As we drove around Ellicott City, it started pouring; and as we looked for parking, it became torrential. Though we decided not to stay, I did swing by the office to put out the sandbags in front of the office door and that of our business neighbor — as I had done so many times for so many storms in the past 16 years. By the time I dragged out the sandbags and got back to the car, my feet were covered with water. As we tried to get to higher ground, many side roads were already closed.
