It Is Known As April's Fury

As you have all heard by now Wednesday April 27, 2011, was a record breaking day for Alabama. That day tornadoes hit the state over and over again. The actual number of touchdowns seems to change by the day as does the number of deaths and reports of missing persons. I don't even hear those numbers anymore, instead they just serve as a sad reminder of how one day can change everything.

The Hubby and I were blessed and had no damage and know no one who was killed due to the storms but we were still affected. All of us who live in North Alabama were affected. I have struggled to put my feelings into words since the storms hit. My emotions have gone from fear when the warnings were so many to keep track of, we were just all being told to seek shelter NOW, to shock when we finally heard a complete report of the damage and realized how lucky we were, to sad when we saw friends affected, to relieved it wasn't us, to guilt for feeling relieved, to irritated that we were all having to live 6+ days without power but thankful we were getting our power back when others didn't have a home to power (and of course that darn guilt again) and the list just seemed to go on. While I still don't know that I could ever explain or write my feelings on this event there are a few things that stick with me.

1. These events have made me even more proud of where I live. It was amazing to me how our communities came together to help each other out. I actually (sorta) enjoyed the power outage and have heard that from so many people. I had time to get to know my neighbors, to just simply be with The Hubby, the pets, and our friends without any distractions, and to have the time to reflect on just how busy life can be sometimes and now we were forced to take a much needed time out. The sense of community and togetherness is so strong around here right now. It is a pretty cool thing to be a part of.

2. The media really can suck sometimes but they really can rock sometimes too. Without power we were stuck listening to the radio to get our news. Without all of those people who worked tirelessly to ensure that every single piece of needed information was getting through the radio networks, we would have all been lost. But once we were able to join the rest of the world in seeing the news coverage, so so much of it seemed to focus on Tuscaloosa. It is political, it is the big city, it is an important part of Alabama's culture and they were tragically affected. But so where so many others from small towns all across north Alabama and they seemed to get forgotten because it just didn't have the same affect on the news as the big city does. It is sad and unfair to me. Even so though, I have struggled with wanting to scream about the unfairness of it with wanting to say thanks a hundred times that they were here diligently covering this horrible event at all. Weird I know.

3. No matter how I feel about the news there are so many people I am so thankful for. We survived this event because every single city and state representative jumped in and asked "what can I do". Organizations have opened their doors to offer any type of assistance they can. Emergency and utility officials have worked around the clock to be sure we are all looked after and other states have supplied needed personnel to support this cause. I will always be grateful for each and every one of them.

If you want to read more about the events of the 27th of April here are some links for you. 
Map
Photo Albums (left hand column)
Satellite Images

Thanks to all my friends and family for their concern through those days. You are all amazing!

A Visit to the South

Easter weekend The Hubby and I had company from Wisconsin here. We spent the weekend visiting local attractions, hanging out with friends, and running errands. One of those errands was the usual day before a holiday trip to Publix for groceries. For those who may not know, Publix is an amazing grocery store, and they still take your groceries to your car for you! So this particular trip we get a young, chatty cart boy who talks to us all the way to the car about the weather, the weekend, and his drive home from work the night before. When he is finished helping us load our car, he smiles and says have "a great Easter". We say thanks and get in the car to drive home. Then out of no where, our company turns to me and says, "people here are just to damn nice". I bust up laughing because I remember when I used to think that as well. I can remember the first time someone called me ma'am and I was almost angry. I kept thinking surely I do not look old enough to be a ma'am! Over time I have come to accept the term as one said in respect, though it does still irritate me slightly, but now I just smile and say thanks. I will admit that many of the places I have visited in the south are filled with extremely polite and sometime overly friendly people but then there are those who are just down right rude. The same is true when I go back home though, it is just a different kind of nice and rude. So I got to thinking if people in the south are really that much nicer than people in the Midwest? I say no. I think I was just as nice (at least when dealing with the public) when I lived in Wisconsin as I am now. I understand why we have the reputation of being rude people who are always in a rush; I also know that the stereotypes aren't true of everyone but it is more fun to talk about the stereotype.  So for me I think it isn't about where I came from or where I live, it simply comes down to just treating every person I come in contact the way I would want to be treated and understanding that usually they are trying to do that to, even if it is different than what I am used to. One favor though, please don' t call me ma'am!