CLEARWATER - Stu Dwork knew he didn't have much time. Water had flooded out of Tampa Bay, crossed Bayshore Boulevard and was marching toward his home in the Hillside Mobile Home Park.
He grabbed three bibles, wrapped them in plastic and ran them to his car.
"I've been in Andrew on the other coast. I was more afraid of this than Andrew," said Dwork, 64. "You see (the water) coming and you're totally helpless."
Frantic, he called his friend, Rebecca Davis, Hillside's park manager. She waded through thigh high water to reach the artist's home.
Dwork's paintings were in jeopardy. They stacked them, and his books, on top of couches, counter tops and the TV.
Then they got out.
As they moved to higher ground, water rose to the threshold of Dwork's door.
Nearby, Bayshore Boulevard looked more like a lake. His unit, like others at Hillside, had water up to their floors.
Another neighbor, Sue Stephenson, took Dwork in.
Monday afternoon, they were waiting for the water to recede so they could see how his home fared.
His home and about a dozen others on the east side of the park appeared the most threatened.
"I really feel bad for all of the people going through this," Dwork said.
"It really puts things in perspective. It's a really humbling experience."
