FAYETTE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Heavy rains turned what should have been a routine evening into an unexpected overnight adventure for well-known folk singer and radio host Michael Johnathon.
The host of WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour found himself stranded at the bottom of his remote log cabin property, nestled between Fayette and Bourbon counties, when rising floodwaters made his bridge impassable.
"I stayed in my car til about 3 o'clock in the morning before I could get across the bridge," Johnathon said.
The heavy rainfall transformed a creek on his property into impassable high water, cutting off access to his home and forcing him to sleep in his car for most of the night.
"It's a run-off creek so when it rains it floods and goes down just as fast," he said.
Despite the inconvenience, Johnathon wasn't too worried about his situation.
"I've slept in my car before so this is not new," he said. "When you're a musician on the road it happens."
He passed the time by posting updates to Facebook and watching documentaries on his phone.
His biggest concern wasn't his own comfort, but the condition of his bridge — the same bridge he had spent six days rebuilding just over a month ago after a tractor trailer destroyed it.
Fortunately, his recent construction work held up to the flooding.
"I'm glad to say it was fine, it held together, everything's good," Johnathon said.
True to his nature as an entertainer, Johnathon approached the ordeal with humor.
"Well, I still play the banjo, so there's always a question of my mental acuity. But yes, the bridge is fine, I'm fine, no water ever reaches the log cabin 'cause the log cabin is on a hill," he said.
Johnathon's WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour can be heard on radio stations around the world. The show is recorded in front of a live audience Mondays at the Lyric Theater in Lexington.
