Those Days are Gone

Summary

Where the River Took Us – Episode 6: “Those Days Are Gone”

Podcast: Where the River Took Us
Host: Texas Monthly / Aaron Parsley
Date: June 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this poignant episode, Aaron Parsley, whose family lost their river home in the tragic Central Texas floods of July 4, 2025, grapples with the aftermath—not just the physical destruction but the existential question of whether to rebuild and what “home” means after such loss. Through intimate conversations with neighbors, family, and fellow survivors, the episode explores the complex decisions involved in rebuilding—both places and lives—in the face of grief, trauma, ongoing environmental risk, and powerful memories.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The River House as It Was—Memory & Loss

• Aaron recounts past summers spent alone at the River House, describing the landscape, routines, and the tranquility once found there (00:20–04:03).
  • Vivid descriptions of running, floating, and the natural beauty—contrasted with how it’s “all gone” now.
  • Quote: “It was a place where I found solitude, peace, and quiet. All of that is gone. And now my family is facing a decision which is what to do with our place. Obviously the house is gone, but the land is still there along the river.” (03:45–04:03)

2. Aftermath & Recovery: Visiting Neighbors Jim and Tess Toliver

• Site visit: Aaron visits the foundations of what was his home (04:03–05:59).
  • The eerie feeling of revisiting ruins; “faint reminders of the fun we had there… now most of all, this place is where Clay died.” (04:16)
• The Tollivers’ Experience: Retired neighbors Jim and Tess describe the terrifying night of the flood and their harrowing escape to the attic (07:59–10:22).
  • Quote: Jim: “At 4am, water came bubbling through this bedroom door just like somebody shooting it with a fire hose… And by the time I get up here, the water’s already hitting up here in seven feet.” (08:27–09:30)
• Destruction: After the waters receded, the devastation was total: “In just a few hours, their dream home was completely destroyed.” (10:33–11:17)

3. The Decision to Stay – Stakes, Memory, and Renewal

• Staying put: Despite the trauma, Jim and Tess decide to rebuild, largely because of family legacy and the outpouring of community support (11:17–13:18).
  • Community Help: Teams such as Christian Aid Ministries, Samaritans First, and Texans on Mission provided essential rebuilding help.
  • Quote: Jim: “The help from the church groups and the different people that have showed up has totally restored my faith in humanity.” (13:18)
• Risk and Acceptance: The Tollivers acknowledge future floods are likely, though not of this magnitude—and accept the risk to reclaim their home (14:25–15:23).
  • Quote: Tess: “Will it flood again? It will… What we experienced was a tsunami of sorts. Will that happen here…again? I don’t think so.” (14:25)

4. The Emotional Toll—Family Reflections on Moving Forward

• Multiple perspectives: Aaron shares the range of opinions within his own family about rebuilding (18:54–21:34).
  • Stepparents and siblings voice conflicting feelings:
    • Wilson: “Texans are resilient… we can’t let this win. Let’s rebuild… But it happened, so it can always happen again.” (19:22–20:15)
    • Alex: “I don’t want our place to be the reminder of hard times and danger because it is a beautiful place.” (20:20–21:20)
• Longing for safety & joy: The wish to regain a sense of security, and the mixture of hope and doubt about returning.
  • Quote: Alex: “I don’t know why I’m crying over this, but I don’t want our place to be the reminder of hard times and danger because it is a beautiful place.” (20:55–21:20)

5. Coming to Terms with Nature’s Power—Loss, Memory & Change

• Nature’s force: Aaron’s father reflects on the loss of a 100-year-old cypress—nature’s scale and indifference are humbling (18:23).
  • Quote: “We’re just little ants on the ground compared to the forces of nature. When something like that happens, that’s humbling.” (18:23–18:54)
• Recreation after trauma: Efforts by Aaron’s father to get comfortable in water again—striving to not let fear overcome beloved pastimes (21:34–22:57).

6. Community Recovery & Safety Initiatives

• Community resilience: Many, like the Marvins, Lopezes, and Michael McCown, are committed to both rebuilding and improving safety, including advocacy for camp safety and flood controls (24:52–26:21).
  • Lance’s push for “dry dams” to mitigate future disasters:
    • Quote: “That flood was around 18 to 22 billion dollars in damages and economic loss. The dams are a fraction of that cost.” (25:55–26:21)

7. Paths Forward—Variety of Grief and Rebuilding

• Personal journeys differ: Each person’s response—reengagement, hesitation, memorialization—is valid; Aaron recognizes his sister Elizabeth’s especially difficult path (27:01–28:03).
• Reluctantly including his sister Alyssa in the podcast: Alyssa volunteers to participate, expressing vulnerability (28:03–28:12).
  • Quote: Alyssa: “I am a little nervous.” (28:11-28:12)
• Looking ahead: The episode ends by teasing the final episode, promising more personal and communal reckoning.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Aaron Parsley, reflecting on memory and loss:

  • “It was a place where I found solitude, peace, and quiet. All of that is gone.” (03:45)

• Neighbor Jim Toliver, on the chaos of the flood:

  • “At 4am, water came bubbling through this bedroom door just like somebody shooting it with a fire hose.” (08:27)
  • “By the time I get up here, the water’s already hitting up here in seven feet.” (09:30)

• Tess Toliver, on the prospect of moving back:

  • “The joy is not quite there... finishing the house will be a milestone we're looking for, but I think in itself, it will bring some emotions forward.” (16:03–16:52)

• Aaron’s father, on nature’s force:

  • “We’re just little ants on the ground compared to the forces of nature.” (18:23)

• Aaron’s stepbrother Wilson, conflicted about rebuilding:

  • “Texans are resilient... Part of me is like, we can’t let this win.” (19:22)
  • “But it happened, so it can always happen again.” (20:15)

• Alex, on beauty and memory:

  • “I don’t want our place to be the reminder of hard times and danger because it is a beautiful place.” (20:55)

• Lance, on the meaning and limits of flood control:

  • “Do you think the river could ever be completely safe? No.” (26:21)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:20–04:03 – Aaron’s memories of the river house, sense of peace and loss
• 04:03–05:59 – Returning to the site; facing ruins and new growth
• 07:59–10:22 – Jim and Tess Toliver recounting the night of the flood, attic escape
• 11:17–13:18 – Decision to stay and community aid
• 14:25–15:23 – Risks of staying; explanation to children, acceptance
• 18:23–18:54 – Aaron’s father on the magnitude of loss and nature’s force
• 19:22–20:15 – Wilson’s conflicted thoughts on resilience and risk
• 20:20–21:20 – Alex’s emotional take on whether to rebuild
• 24:52–26:21 – Community projects for new flood safety; Lance on dry dams
• 27:01–28:12 – Aaron reflects on his sister Elizabeth’s and Alyssa’s path forward

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Tone & Narrative Style

The tone remains intimate, reflective, and respectful throughout—conveying vulnerability and the weighty mix of sorrow, love, nostalgia, ambivalence, and hope. Interviewees and Aaron alike are frank about their fears, reservations, and the impossibility of returning to “how it was.” Thoughtful, unhurried narration and quotes capture the determination of those who rebuild and the struggles of those who choose not to.

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[For the next episode: the podcast promises a deeply personal conversation with Aaron’s sister Alyssa, further exploring how families try to heal amidst unimaginable ordeals.]

Transcript

[A]

Before we get started, a warning that this show contains descriptions of subjects including child loss, drowning and grief.

[B]

Texas monthly.

[C]

A couple years ago, during the depths of summer, I spent five weeks by myself at the River House. The rest of the family was in Colorado for the month to escape the heat. I'd been working from home, but Patrick was starting renovations at our place in East Austin. So I packed up my stuff and moved into the house on Cookie's Lane. That summer was bone dry. The river was lower than I'd ever seen it. The yard was beige and brittle the entire time I was there. It rained once, a short afternoon downpour that I recorded on my phone and sent to my folks in Colorado as proof that it still rained in Texas. I had a few visitors that summer. Patrick came out for a couple weekends. Some of my friends did, too. Melissa, who you met earlier in the show, and the guys from my Wednesday night group. My friend Kristen flew in from New York and spent a week with me. We swam every afternoon, made dinner together, and drove west at sunset, listening to Casey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert's dreamiest songs. More often, though, I was alone. I woke up early, starting each morning on the back deck in the dark, looking up at the starry sky over the jagged black outline of the cypress trees that lined the river. Most days at dawn, a gray fox crossed the yard, then dipped into the brush off to the side of the property, and once it was light enough, I'd go running. I ran a lot that summer, carving routes out of empty hill country roads, passing Trump signs and barking dogs and spectacular views. I binged on the morning heat, the solitude, the opportunity to push myself. I ran 11 miles one day for no other reason than because I was propelled by music and ego to climb one more hill. After every run, I'd walk the dirt driveway from the main road, past the stairs on the side of the house and down a gravel path to the concrete landing at the edge of the yard. Splashing into the cool river after a long, hot run was the best. I swam a bit, but mostly I floated, gently moving and stretching my body in the water, rotating and relaxing my shoulders, kicking the exhaustion out of my legs as steam rose off the glassy Guadalupe. A fish or two might jump. Otherwise it was just me and the birds. I could float aimlessly, looking up and down river at sky, wood, leaves and water, alone in the middle of the river. I considered it to be one of the most beautiful places in Texas. It was a place where I found solitude, peace and quiet. All of that is gone. And now my family is facing a decision which is what to do with our place. Obviously the house is gone, but the land is still there along the river. After the flood, there was a massive volunteer effort to help people recover their homes as quickly as possible. It was such an impressive outpouring of support. But I also knew from my own experience how complicated the prospect of rebuilding would be. Our neighbors out there, Jim and Tess Toliver, who'd visited us the evening before the flood, were among those people who were having their house rebuilt. I wanted to talk to them about that. So last fall I went out to meet them. Along the way, I passed dump trucks full of debris and you could see newly framed houses going up. And you know, the Tollivers were our next door neighbors. So when I got there, I just parked in our driveway and had a look around.

[A]

Yeah, so this used to be our five bedroom house. Those pillars right there and the pillars here. It's pretty, pretty eerie actually. Ruins.

[C]

It's a completely different feeling out there now. Down by the water, there are just faint reminders of the fun we had there. Now most of all, this place is where Clay died.

[A]

You can see the rope swing up there, kind of tangled up in the branch used to hang down over here.

[C]

But you can also see how after the flood, this landscape is changing every day.

[A]

Yeah, just a lot of activity too. People are supposed to load up the debris at the edge of Highway 39 and you'll see these giant trucks coming by and they've got like claws that reach down, pick up the debris and dump it in the back and they haul it off somewhere.

[C]

There's a sense of renewal, a sense of the place getting cleaned up.

[A]

But you can see already, look at these trees that are already growing back. That is cool.

[C]

A couple little saplings were coming up. So you do sort of realize that time can move slowly or time can move quickly, but it's moving ahead and the place is maybe not going to come back to how it was, but it's going in a new direction. Those of us who lost homes out there each have our own decisions to make about how we want to shape this community or whether we even see a place for ourselves out there anymore. From Texas Monthly, I'm Aaron Parsley and this is where the river took place. US Episode 6 those days are Gone.

[A]

Yeah, this is their guest house and then we got to go kind of around.

[C]

Jim and Tess Toliver, our next door neighbors on the river are a lovely couple from Houston who retired and moved to Ingram full time in 2020. That property had been in Tess's family since the 1970s. And so they knew the community and they were always really helpful to us as we settled in as weekenders there in Ingram. On July 3, they came over to our house to see us and to meet my nephew Clay for the first time.

[A]

When we got here on July 3, the water was out inside the house. And then they offered us their place. You know, said if we need to use the bathroom or take a shower or even sleep there, that we were welcome. And sure enough, around 11:30 at night, I walked over here with that flashlight and it wasn't even raining.

[C]

We followed what's left of this gravel road that leads out to the highway. And passing by these trees, you look up and you see debris in the branches and realize that you're walking on a place that was underwater that morning. But once we got up to their yard, I could see their house was still standing and it looked like a construction site.

[A]

Hi Tess.

[D]

Hey, how are you?

[A]

I'm doing okay, how are you? It's nice to see you walking through

[C]

the 50 Cent tour room.

[A]

This looks. Everything looks so different.

[E]

Oh, doesn't it look?

[A]

I almost missed the turn vista.

[C]

I know their home, which is a beautiful home that they designed themselves. It's their dream home where they've gone to live and spend their retirement. It sits on a big yard that Jim spends a lot of time working on. It was a beautiful, comfortable, nice stone house. And it had these huge floor to ceiling windows that overlook the yard.

[A]

I mean that's. We're how far from the river? 100 yards.

[D]

180 yards. 180 yards from the south end of the house. 200 yards on that side. Right.

[A]

Wow.

[D]

And we're 40ft above the river. We're on a three foot foundation, so that's 50ft out of its banks right here.

[C]

The morning of July 4th, the water was seven feet high inside their home. Jim and Tess told me the story of their night and their morning. And it was harrowing in a completely different way from what I'd been through. They had told me that they stayed up late watching TV and went to bed about 2:30, aware that it was raining outside, aware that there was thunder and lightning, but not thinking much beyond that. Within a couple of hours, Jim said that he woke up when he realized that there was water coming into their bedroom.

[D]

So at 4am Water came bubbling through this bedroom door just like somebody shooting it with a fire hose. I mean it was like boom, boom, boom. Boom, boom, boom. Came out here and started looking, and it had just hit, and it was about four and a half feet of water.

[A]

So you could see it up the glass.

[D]

Yeah, it looked like an aquarium.

[C]

He woke up his wife, Tess.

[D]

Tess was standing about right there. And I looked back at her, and I said, babe, we only got one shot. We can't walk out of here. And then I said, well, we can't drive out of here.

[C]

And he said he knew right away that they needed to get into the attic.

[D]

So I grabbed a step stool out of the pantry, and I pulled this attic door down. And so then I had Tess go up first, and I put her up, and she went up.

[C]

And when he was following her up into the attic, he said that the water was rising so quickly that it was just coming up the steps right after him.

[D]

And then as I start up, that sliding glass door shut off in the middle of the living room, and it came down the hallway. And I'm climbing just as fast as, you know, this. And by the time I get up here, the water's already hitting up here in seven feet.

[C]

We looked around up there. It was a tight space.

[A]

I can't imagine being up here in the dark.

[D]

I mean, yeah, we had a flashlight.

[A]

You had a flashlight. But there's wires everywhere, everywhere. Okay, so that's where y' all tried to get over.

[D]

I had Tess walk over on the rafters, and she walked that rafter like a trapeze artist. Wow. Couldn't tell what was going on, but we just hear boom, bang, boom, bang. And that was everything leaving the house.

[C]

They spent a few hours up there in the attic before the water receded enough so that they could come down.

[D]

And then you come down, and everything in here is devastated. I mean, it's just been drenched with brown, muddy water and refrigerators, you know,

[B]

laying down on the ground.

[C]

Yeah, there was mud everywhere, streaking the walls in the main part of the house. All of the furniture from the living room was pushed into the kitchen by the floodwaters. Those beautiful windows in the dining room were completely gone, and the view was of a mess of fallen trees. In just a few hours, their dream home was completely destroyed. They're from Houston, and they've experienced hurricanes and flooding out there. But I was surprised at first when they told me that they were determined to stay. When I first asked them, it came down to, where else would we go? This is our home. Part of it, I think, had to do with Tess's family's connection to the property, which goes way back over 40

[B]

years, we used to go on vacation at a resort here with family friends back in the 70s. And so one summer, coming home, my dad saw the land for sale, and he bought the first lot. And so he and my mom had this little red cabin on this property.

[A]

As their family grew, Tess and Jim started coming out here more with the kids.

[B]

You know, the kids played all along the riverfront. One son that loves nature, you know, would always be in the creek looking for frogs and snakes, and Annie would be down at the river with her older sister, swimming. That's about what we could afford to

[E]

take our kids to for, you know, summer vacations.

[A]

Sounds like basically a wonderland out here for kids.

[F]

It was.

[C]

And Tess told me initially when she came down out of the attic that she couldn't imagine how they were ever going to be able to rebuild the house. But then people showed up at their doorstep, volunteers from all over the state of Texas and beyond to help them clean up the mess and then start the process of rebuilding. They were from Christian Aid Ministries, which has headquarters in Ohio. But according to Jim, most of the group, headed up by mission leader Daniel Weaver, came from Texas, near Hillsboro and Waco.

[A]

And what did they tell you when they showed up at your doorstep?

[D]

They said, we're here to help you. We do this all over the country, and it's free, and we just want to help you. And these guys came in, they shoveled sludge, stripped every bit of sheetrock off the walls, cleaned out the whole house. And then Samaritans first came in and started cleaning the studs and scraping the insulation off the walls.

[C]

And then their daughter saw that a local ministry called Texans on Mission was also offering help, so she filled out a request.

[D]

They came in and started sheetrocking, and then they hired a drywall crew out of San Antonio and then hired a crew to paint.

[C]

And so it was almost like the decision was made for them once the work got underway.

[D]

I probably said it for three or four weeks every day. The help from the church groups and the different people that have showed up has totally restored my faith in humanity.

[A]

Yeah, it's crazy to think that this event and this river can take so much away, but also it provides a lot, too, and in this way that, you know, people come together.

[C]

But I was still curious about whether or not they would be nervous about staying there. It isn't an easy decision. For anyone who's experienced the flood or who's lost a loved one. This question about getting back to life along the river is so complicated. And it's playing out up and down the Guadalupe among the people who live there, who vacation there, or who send their kids to camp out there. And that's when they told me a little bit about experiencing flooding in Houston and how you can be in one place where it's not even raining and then down the street could be underwater. So I think they really understand that the chances of this happening again are very low, but they're not zero.

[B]

Will it flood again? It will. This river has flooded over and over again, but it's been a flood. What we experienced was a tsunami of sorts. Will that happen here on this spot again?

[A]

What they figure is that the odds of another flood this big along this one stretch of this one river within the next, however many years, are low enough for them to take that risk. Have you had to explain this, like, to your kids or their family? Are they sort of on the same page as you? Do you have people that are worried about you?

[B]

They are. Our youngest daughter told me that she didn't know if she could let her daughter sleep here, mainly because of Clay. They're the same age. And I said, I respect that. So, you know, we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it. We'll come to Houston and see you.

[A]

You understand that decision?

[B]

I totally understand. I respect any kid's decision. And I think over time, people will feel differently.

[A]

This part of Texas is known as Flash Flood Alley because it has a history of this kind of flooding. We know that in an era of climate change, extreme weather of all kinds is becoming more frequent and more intense.

[C]

When it comes to flooding, it's just

[A]

a fact that warmer air can hold more moisture, and that impacts the severity of these events. But people everywhere will be weighing the risks and rewards of living where they do or spending time in beautiful places where drought, wildfires, hurricanes, and other disasters are possible. That's the reality of nature.

[C]

Its beauty, wonder, and enjoyment are not the whole story.

[B]

And, you know, when we built this house, we had a lot of joy. This was our retirement home. We planned for it. He designed it. We had fun. The joy is not quite there. We're just trying to put things back the way they were. We want to be home. It'll be. Sorry. It'll be hard, I think, sleeping here the first night. I told him that just the other day. We've learned it's. You take it a stage at a time, you move through it. And I have periods of time where I don't cry at all. But, you know, finishing the house will be a milestone we're looking for, but I think in itself, it will bring some emotions forward.

[A]

All right, good to see you.

[D]

Good to see you.

[A]

Thank you, guys.

[E]

Thank you.

[A]

Talking with Jim and Tess about their decision to stay out there and rebuild their house, it helped me understand how the support of a community and the help from strangers made them feel like they. This is something that they could do. I don't think it affects the way I think about being out there and whether or not I want to stay out there, but I don't live out there full time. You know, their house was still standing. They didn't lose anyone in the flood. I think the biggest takeaway so far, based on the conversations that I've had with people who live out in Ingraham, along the river, with people who live, experienced this flood in different ways, including members of my family, is that, you know, this story continues. We're all still figuring out what this place, this river will mean for us for the rest of our lives. You and I went back to the property for the first time together. You want to talk about what was on your mind about being back there?

[F]

Well, you have naturally, you have curiosity. You want to see what the river looked like, what the trees looked like. I wanted to find the tree I

[A]

was in when my dad was in the studio. I wanted to know how he saw the place today.

[F]

That giant cypress tree on our lot that was probably over 100 years old. I was told it was one of the marker trees that surveyors had used for years because it had been there for so long, and it's gone now. And you can't take something like that for granted anymore. We're just little ants on the ground compared to the forces of nature. When something like that happens, that's humbling.

[A]

What do you think of the idea of people rebuilding along the river?

[F]

I don't want to really speak for anybody else. I mean, if I was in charge of emergency relief funds, I don't think it's logically a good idea. But people have their reasons. I wouldn't want to do it.

[A]

I heard such a range of opinions on this, even within my own family. Here's my stepbrother, Wilson.

[G]

Texans are resilient. And so part of me, part of me is like, we can't let this win. Let's rebuild. You know, people have been rebuilding after floods in that area for hundreds of years, years. And I'm very conflicted because on one

[B]

hand,

[G]

is it irresponsible or is it offensive to some people? To potentially risk your own and others lives by being out there again and sleeping out there and being out there. You know, it was on stilts. It was built that way after the last flood so that this wouldn't happen. And that always made us feel safe. And I mean it happened so it can always happen again.

[E]

People are always asking, will you rebuild? Will you rebuild?

[A]

This is my stepmom, Alex.

[E]

And I've gone through different scenarios where I've thought, well, yeah, we'll rebuild and this time we'll do some kind of metal, something that can't be swept away and no, that's impossible. And then we've also talked about when we were this early on, it was like, yeah, we go out there and then if it rains we leave. And it's like, well, you can't live that way. You know, one thing, I'd like to get it kind of cleaned up before the summer because I think about people going down the river and then the campers across the way until. I don't know why I'm crying over this, but I don't want our place to be the reminder of hard times and danger because it is a beautiful place.

[A]

And while there is physical rebuilding going on, many of us are still also rebuilding our sense of security and peace and an affection for this place. My dad told me he'd still like to spend time out there again.

[F]

You'd mentioned something about me wanting to go swimming again. I do want to go back in that same stretch of river and swim and enjoy it in its more natural state than the last time we were in it, because I have a lot of fond memories of that.

[A]

But it'll take time. He told me he's been working on getting comfortable swimming. The last time he and Alex were in West Texas, they stopped at Balmorais, which has this incredible spring fed pool in the middle of the desert.

[F]

And that was really nice to swim in those spring fed waters. Except for once when I wanted to go from one place over to the bank to get out and there were some people floating in the way and rather than swim around them, I dove under them and about six feet under them for just a second. I had a little bit of a panic, but I just kept stroking and then popped right back up. It was pretty interesting. But all in all I'm glad I did that. I don't want to be afraid of the water. I love swimming. I'm not gonna. Our fate is not gonna deprive me of something I like to do.

[C]

My husband Patrick waited a long Time before going back to the river, he grieved for Clay and processed this tragedy in his own way, but he hasn't felt the need to return to do any of that. When we spoke about it, I was a little surprised to hear him say he didn't really have a reason to go back. That river had been a very meaningful part of his life. His sister Carolyn talked about this.

[H]

We moved to the hill country when I was about 12 years old. I would consider that river to be in our backyard, basically. And, you know, we really didn't have an upbringing where we could afford to, let's say, go to Fiesta Texas for recreation.

[C]

Six Flags. Fiesta Texas is a big theme park with roller coasters in San Antonio.

[H]

So that river really was a source of joy. I mean, I would say it was the pinnacle of recreation for us. I feel like those days are gone in a way, and I must feel that way, because they have to be gone for you. They have to be gone for my brother. I mean, memories are memories, and there'll always be good memories, but it's. Yeah, the river's changed. And I reflected on just that dichotomy of what mother Nature can represent. Joy versus fear and death. And that Patrick, of all people who grew up on that river, was sort of a victim of its fury. And that's been really. That's. It's just really hard to comprehend, and it's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking.

[C]

After being back out here, I realized everyone has their own path forward, how to rebuild and honor and heal. I saw how the Tollivers are rebuilding their homes and how others, like the Marvins and the Lopez's who helped us as we got out of the river that morning, are determined to stay and help rebuild a community and a way of life. I saw how people like my stepmom Alex, and her son Wilson, have a desire to rebuild their connection to a place that has been so special to our family. They want that for the next generation. I think that's what's on the minds of people like my friend Michael McCown, who's pushing for camp safety and seeking accountability for what happened at Camp Mystic. I'm not sure I recognized it at the time, but not long after the flood, I saw Lance, amid his despair over losing Clay, pouring himself into a new flood control project for the Guadalupe. He's proposing what's called a dry dam, where in normal conditions, water and wildlife can still flow past it.

[I]

It's just a large structure. When those heavy storms come and you have that tidal Wave of water. It's going to hold that back and just release it, let it go slowly, you know, not including the loss of life. That's priceless. That flood was around 18 to 22 billion dollars in damages and economic loss. You know, the dams are a fraction of that cost.

[A]

Do you think that the river could ever be completely safe? No.

[I]

Even in these, because you're going to have to put them so far upstream. There could still be some flooding there. There will be, but it's not going to be that tidal wave. Okay. It's going to be 10, 15 foot of flooding versus 40. That's the goal. Right. I want dams to be built. I want Clay's Dam, I want Mystics Dam. I want them to be assembled of our strength and resiliency to, you know, combat this.

[C]

And this part of Texas will be beautiful and inviting again. It's only a matter of time because of that desire and that work. But this work is really hard and it takes time. And that's on my mind as I think of my sister Elizabeth. Her path forward is so arduous. I've sometimes struggled to get my head around all that she is going through. It can be hard to know what to do, how to help or not. What I do know is I would do anything for my sister and she is the strongest person I know. I hadn't planned on asking Alyssa to be a part of this podcast. I just wasn't sure it was the right thing to do. But of course we talked about the project and she understood it. She supported what I was doing. And one day she asked me if I wanted her to participate too. And then what we write in here,

[H]

I'm a little nervous, honestly.

[A]

L like, they're probably already recording. We can just talk.

[H]

I am a little nervous.

[A]

I'm a little nervous too, but I don't think we should be.

[C]

That's coming up on the final episode of where the River Took Us.

[A]

Where the River Took Us is a Texas monthly production written and hosted by me, Aaron Park. Executive producer is Melissa Reese. Produced and edited by Patrick Michaels and Sarah Kinney. Produced, engineered and scored by Brian Standifer. Story editing by J.K. nichol. Fact checking by Doyen Oyeni. Art by Emily Kimbrough and Victoria Milner.

[C]

Studio musicians are Jeff Queen, Peter Schultz and Sean Giddings. We had additional production help on this episode from Owen Schwartzbard and Lauren Santucci.