`NOW, IT'S A LIVING NIGHTMARE': LOUNGE OWNER HAS THE FLOOD AT BACK DOOR

McCLURE, Ill. Willa Simmons knew her home and business were in danger from floodwater; she just didn't know how bad it was.

Simmons, who with her husband Bill, owns the El Patio Lounge here. She read in the newspaper Thursday morning that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers believes the levee's weakest spot is just a few yards from where she sleeps and works.

"We weren't even aware of that," Simmons said. "I was a little scared before, but now it's a living nightmare."

About a week and a half ago, the couple stripped their home of everything, down to the woodwork and doors just in case.

They have been living in their business building, next door.

The levee is just about 30 yards from the back of the building. In 1943, when the levee broke, it was just a few yards upstream.

Seepwater has been standing in the back yard for over two weeks. A sandboil bubbles in the front parking lot. National Guardsmen are posted next door.

"We're holding our breath really," she said. "When they empty the keg, we're closed."

Four "regulars" perched on barstools while the Simmons' packed and moved. They made jokes about Simmons' "fashionable" wading boots.

"It's a tragedy," Simmons said. "But all their joking really helps us get through."

Periodically, the Simmons' must stop packing to vacuum seepwater from the interior of the building.

"This morning we vacuumed about 70 or 80 gallons," Simmons said.

Within a couple of days, Simmons said, they will be "going to dry country in Cape Girardeau."

"They say if it breaks, there will be 14 feet of water here," she said.

That means two feet of water will be standing in the second floor of her home. Of course that's in the event that the rush of water doesn't simply wash the buildings away.

At East Cape Girardeau and McClure, residents were packing up and heading out, convinced by Wednesday's suggestion to evacuate.

Vans, trucks, trailers and cars were loaded with furniture, clothes and other belongings as residents decided which things they couldn't allow floodwater to destroy.

Thursday afternoon, Mary Abercrombie and her son finished packing a trailer with her most prized possessions.

The trailer was rented from Paducah, Ky., the closest location they could find one.

Her son, Alan Abercrombie, said, "That old levee and that river you can't play games with that.

"I wasn't going to sit around and wait for something to happen. I wanted to get her out now while it's still safe," he said. "I hope we're just wasting our energy."

Mary Abercrombie recalls the flood in 1943 when the levee broke near McClure. She was a high school student at the time. When she graduated, in the spring of 1944, no ceremony was held. She and the other 14 graduates were just handed diplomas on the street.

She's worried this flood may have similar devastating results in the two communities.

"This is depressing and nerve wracking," she said. "I've carried a suitcase with me for a week now, in case of an emergency.

"My heart tells me I would like to stay, but my head tells me I should go."

After Wednesday's meeting, she decided to go.

"If everything holds, I'll be back," Abercrombie said. "If it breaks, I won't be back."

Edna and Don Poole of East Cape Girardeau also packed up their most valuable possessions. The couple said many of their neighbors had already left.

"If the levee breaks, I think it would be about 10 feet deep around here," Don Poole said. "I have things in the attic and I don't know it that's high enough."

The Pooles have items stored at four different locations. They plan to stay in Carbondale starting next week ... or sooner if Edna Poole has her way.