The flood waters that filled the Mississippi River drainage districts north of Quincy continue to slowly recede, offering hope for those who call the area home while leaving behind a mess of debris.

Scavengers feast on that.

Overturned sheds, trailers and duck blinds litter the fields. Every post, plank and piece of sheet metal is worth something, which explains why boats and four-wheelers have been seen dragging debris through the muck.

They hope to find treasures inside.

Tools and duck decoys are the most prevalent, although scavengers will pick up anything of value. Labels mean nothing, other than some extra work to scratch off the names if the items are to be sold.

It's a dirty business.

Thankfully, not everyone soils their hands that way.

The blind my father and I hunt on Goose Lake was washed away, carrying the decoys he spent a lifetime making and collecting with it. Although disappointed, my dad had resigned to start over.

In fact, plans for a new setup were already taking shape.

Then came the phone call informing him there'd be no need.

Kody Daniel, a 19-year-old Quincy Notre Dame graduate who will be a sophomore at Bradley University, found the blind with the decoys still inside. Each decoy was marked with a name and phone number, so Daniel immediately called.

He even offered to haul the decoys back to town.

Ecstatic barely begins to describe my dad's reaction. Not only did Daniel's good deed save hundreds of dollars in replacement costs, but there was something nostalgic about those decoys, especially the ones my dad had used for decades.

Daniel's was a self-less act, done strictly to help a fellow hunter, something he hopes someone would do for him if the roles were reversed. He wasn't seeking reward or recognition. He returned those decoys because it was the right thing to do.

At a trying time, when scavengers and leeches prey on people's vulnerabilities, it's reassuring to know a man's integrity didn't get washed away, too.

-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366