Danger! Quicksand! Keep Out! Lake Archusa 3030 Build a new dam that will last a thousand year plus.
Danger! Quicksand! Keep Out!
Lake Archusa 3030
Build a new dam that will last a thousand year plus.
What was once a beautiful 450 acre lake is now a death trap for animals and people should they happen to step into the muck. One has only to follow the animal tracks to see where the danger lies. It is a precarious proposition. One misstep could be tragic.
An opossum, a forty pound dog, a deer, Homo sapien. Those are my footprints. Poking the muck with a walking stick, here, there, the ground is beginning to soften and get mucky. I hesitate. Up ahead I see where the deer tracks disappear into the quicksand. Carefully I backup and retrace my steps.
As shivers run down my spine, I think about the deer, the dog, the opossum. Were they all sucked into the muck and mud? Will their tracks be washed away in the next rain storm which will surely soften the whole 450 acre lake bed and turn it into a quicksand death trap.
Why does not the city put up signs to warn the public before someone dies? A few drops of rain fall from the sky. I notice another set of tracks. An armadillo. They are adapted to dig in the ground. Surely armadillos, an ancient species, know how to avoid quicksand. My curiosity has its limits. Rather than track the armadillo, I continue to retrace my steps to safety. After all, the sky is darkening. There is the rumble of thunder in the distance. All the signs of a flash flood to come. I am not a fool. I am out of here. As I step in my vehicle I wonder, if the dog was so lucky?
Aware of the clear and present danger, I wonder what can I do? Is anyone else aware of the quicksand?. Soon the fall festival will be coming which attracts thousands of visitors to the area. Are any plans being made to protect the visitors, especially the many children and young people?.
I must do something to try to save lives. Thus I penned this muse and designed a sign which says, "Danger! Quick Sand! Keep Out!" If these were posted all around Lake Archusa, and even worn on t-shirts, it could alert the public and maybe save a life.
Why cannot people see to see and act when there is a clear and present danger? Why was not the dam maintained, but instead let to fail only after 25 years? Was it not insured? Who is to blame? Who will be to blame if someone is sucked under into the quicksand and suffocates a horrifying death?
"Danger! Quick Sand! Keep Out!" I posted the quicksand warning sign on the net at https://www.cafepress.com/evault/17417238. I also posted a photograph of the sign below. Anyone who has the means may print them out, laminate them, and post them around Lake Archusa.
One would have to put up fencing to save the deer and dogs. Does anyone even care about animal welfare that much? Shoot the deer. Shoot the dog. Is that the ethic which prevails in this rural Mississippi town where everyone is a hunter and owns at least one shot gun, if not an AR-15 style rifle?
Danger! Quick Sand! Keep Out! The City would be wise to pass an emergency ordinance to make Lake Archusa off limits until a new dam is built and water restored to the lake. As for having a festival before the lake is filled, bad idea. Who wants to look at a 450 acre mud hole? And if some kid runs off and sinks in the quicksand, who is going to be held liable?
Danger! Quick Sand! Keep Out! Dynamite the old failed dam. Turn it to rubble. Dredge the lake bed of muck. Construct a new concrete and steel dam designed and built to last a thousand years plus. Build up a new community around the lake. Call it Americaville. Investors from around the nation, perhaps the world, would flood the community with millions of dollars.
Americaville. Build Americaville right here in Clarke County, right here at Lake Archusa in Quitman. Why not? It is a great idea! Build Americaville now, before the Chinese steal the idea, if they haven't already.
Americaville: For Our Children's Children. I designed a logo with an American Flag heart and posted it at https://www.cafepress.com/mytrophy/17417643. It is a great idea!
What do you think? Please post a comment here or email greatusart@gmail.com if you want to help promote Americaville and Lake Archusa 3030, a new dam that will last a thousand years plus. It is a great idea!
