On April 27, 2011, in many parts of my home state of Alabama, life as
we know it came to a screeching halt. Several large tornadoes,
including the EF5 tornado pictured here, ripped across my beautiful
state, leaving death and destruction in its path. My little part of the
state was spared the death & destruction, but power went out and
did not return for 6 days.
When I look back on those powerless days, it really wasn’t as bad as I
would have imagined. I had a Coleman 2-burner stove, 2 small propane
bottles, a grill, a battery-powered radio, candles, 2 oil lamps and lots
of candles. Luckily, one small town 20 miles west never lost power and
25 miles to the north was the TN state line where power was also
available. But getting to either place to purchase supplies or
gasoline proved to be quite the adventure. But I, and some friends,
managed to make it work. Blessedly, the weather was fairly cool, at
least the nights were, so sleeping wasn’t that hard. Cell phone service
was spotty at first, but by day 3 had cleared up and worked fairly
well. I was so happy to have a Smartphone so I could get limited
internet access. A curfew was put in place from dusk to dawn and most
people did abide by it.
I was also grateful that my alcoholic son wasn’t here to make it an even more stressful time. He is still in AZ, but just came off a 5-day drinking binge and had to go to a detox facility. Found that out yesterday on Mother’s Day. Typical. But today he was taken to a halfway house in Phoenix where he claims he will finish the program and stay sober. Maybe he truly has hit his bottom this time, knowing that no family members were out there to rescue him and almost dieing of alcohol poisoning all alone in a motel room. Anyway, enough about that.
I have to say how proud I am of the awesome people here in Alabama. They are pulling together and helping their friends, neighbors, and even strangers clean up the debris and start them down the road to recovery. There were minimal incidents of looting during the week-long power outage. I never felt afraid in my pitch dark city at night. Neighbors helped neighbors in whatever way they could and shared whatever they had available. It has truly been a time in history that I will never forget. There is still a long road ahead for many people and I plan to do my part in volunteering my time and money.
I was only 10 at the time of the 1974 tornado outbreak that hit a lot of the same areas but I still remember the people’s lives that were changed that day. I remember that I was on jury duty during the 1989 tornado outbreak that destroyed parts of the city that I know call home. Maybe it will be another 20 years or more before we experience this many tornadoes in one day again. But we need never forget the incredible power that nature can unleash when conditions come together just right lest we become complacent. Please keep the people of Alabama in your prayers in the weeks and months to come.