I am an Auburn native who has seen many years of flooding in this beautiful, fertile valley of ours before the Howard Hanson Dam was built.

For goodness sake, we all chose to live on a river plain, and it continues to flood in some areas here every single year.

The possibility of any loss of home, property, business, as well as my life, scares the heck out of me. It makes every single day very stressful. It just breaks my heart to think of this area being under so much destruction.

I have done everything humanly possible to prepare and protect myself, home, property and business as advised. Many of my neighbors have been so traumatized by the flood alert that they have abandoned their homes and moved. Trying to sell their homes in this financially stressed economy is just not happening.

I understand the concept of being informed and ready just in case, but I don’t believe we need to be terrorized by the media over it.

The Auburn Reporter published a horrible cartoon by Frank Shires Jr. (Jan. 29), making light or fun of this flood danger. I found this cartoon offensive, rude, insensitive and not funny at all. How dare Mr. Shires draw this, let alone your paper publish it along with the article of vandalism of the very sandbag barriers that have been placed at great expense, time and energy to protect us.

I pray to God the flood doesn’t come, our levees hold up and the dam gets repaired before high water pushes it beyond its boundaries. I pray that we stay safe and dry in our own homes.

I am eternally grateful to the many volunteer “wall-walkers” who monitor our flood barriers.

In any event, I have my flood insurance, survival supplies, escape plan and my pretty red life preserver hanging by my backdoor. Now, I’m shopping for a small boat to place on my carport roof.

What a great way to live, huh? If the flood doesn’t get me, the stress will. We all have the right to free speech, right? Well, here’s mine. Have a good day now, and God help us all.

– Lia Hodel