The Corona Virus is a scary disease, but there have been much worse. Flu epidemics were deadly and people of the early 1920's saw fit to wear masks, not quite like those we find today. But, in 1867 Yellow Fever killed 1/3 of the population of Texas, Louisiana and the Mississippi low country. No one knew at the time that mosquitoes carried the deadly virus.
Many areas were prone to flooding at the time. Many houses were built on stilts to keep the flood waters at bay. In fact, even garbage cans were on stilts. To empty them, they could be tipped over and dumped and then moved back to level again.
When Jim and I traveled in Louisiana and Mississippi, we saw many houses on stilts though at the time, I didn't realized how deadly and destructive some of the weather there could be. Nor did I realize that Texas was a hot bed for flooding diseases. We take for granted that waterways are very much controlled by ditches and dams. It was not always so.
I'm astounded at how much history we forget. And, when we forget, we are destined to repeat
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