IT SOUNDED LIKE AJET ENGINE //11/ /DR. ALICE JEWELL, PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH When their son, Jason, told them the toilet flooded their house, professors Fred and Alice Jewell expected to find some water damage when they returned home after a month in Finland this summer, but said they never expected an actual flood. "We didn't know the scope or extent, but at least we didn't get a surprise," Fred said. Jason had been house-sitting for his parents, but left a week before their arrival with his wife to visit his in-laws in Texarkana. When Jason returned to Sean:y, the water had been sitting on the floor in his parents' home for six days. The ceiling, walls and curtains were soaked in the bathroom, and nearly the entire first floor of their house was flooded. "On Wednesday night at lOp.m. Dickey Deanfrom College church came with a wet vacuum and pumped 50 gallons of water out of the carpet," Alice said. Fred and Alice arrived back in Searcy Monday morning at 8 a.m. ServiceMaster brought in 11 highpowered, industrial fans and two humidifiers to help dry out the house. "There were fans everywhere," Alice said. "It sounded like a jet engine - you couldn't hear a thing." While repairs were being made, the Jewells lived upstairs in their home. Though the situation was unpleasant, the Jewells were optimistic. "We joked that our time in Finland was good preparation for living through this time," Fred said. "Our apartment in Finland was very Spartan. When we got back [home] we had only a card table to use and two folding chairs in the kitchen." Fred and Alice also had responsibilities at Harding while the construction dragged on. Fred taught eight students in American Government and Alice taught 12 students in Advanced Grammar during the summer. With the work on their house in full swing, Alice was forced to keep a cell phone with her in class, something she said she had never done before. "I [had] to be available for questions," Alice said. "We were only interrupted about three times. I excused myself from class to handle the questions; it only took about a minute." All the construction was finished after four months of work, leaving the Jewells to unpack and settle back into their lives. Their outlook seemed to have remained positive. "It would be easy to get upset," Fred said. "From day one I was glad it was water and not fire. As far as 'disasters' go, this was low intensity - it could have been much worse." -ALISAMOLONEY 169 - ENGLISH/FOREIGN LANGUAGE
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