Just The Lovely

I can't begin to put my feelings about the last few days into written word since they're all still jumbled. I always thought it was unlikely that a tornado would hit my house. I always thought it was unlikely that the tornado would be above a F1 or F2 if one did indeed hit our house. I always thought it'd be survivable as long as we were indoors and not out doing anything stupid.

I always thought of my little spot in the country as peaceful...a haven. Now when I drive down my beautiful street I see evidence of an F4 tornado roaring over the mountain. I hear street names, like Clonts and Bates and Cherokee Valley and they conjure up thoughts of death. The sound of loudspeakers announcing the Red Cross food truck, or of helicopters flying overhead, or of chainsaws and sirens have become a constant buzz in my head. The sound of silence is even more deafening though. When it's lunchtime and workers are on break, and I don't hear any cars driving by because of police roadblocks...and when it's just silent...those times are just as erie.

There's still a beautiful side to my neighborhood though...the images of people smiling outside their demolished houses, or groups of teenagers in work gloves, or strangers, sweaty and tired, asking me if I need ice or a tarp or food. There's satisfaction with each branch or shingle thrown on a burn pile. There are police officers we now consider friends.

Here are a few more random images. This is what remains of a few paper lanterns on our back porch. The wire in them unravelled and was wrapped all the way around the side of our house.

Lydia is holding the wire from the lanterns. Our poor roof looks horrible. We are getting a new one though.

These guys were  out doing their thing a couple days ago. They found whoever they were looking for....once the ambulance left they took off. The death count went up by 1 shortly afterwards, but it could've been coincidence.

Another shot of my house....the structure in the forefront is an old, covered well. There are men's clothes in there now...

When I was cleaning up the yard yesterday I found a Barry Bonds rookie baseball card that's worth a little bit of money. I'm attempting to find the owner, but am not above selling it if I can't find it's home :)

This is a random Baptist church crew helping us clean up. This is my neighbor's house and his is the last one standing before the total destruction of homes. His wife looked out the window and saw the tornado coming over the hill. They didn't have time to make it to the basement.