Brian and I spent 2 days down in Alabama helping clean up from the tornado. There is a video of the tornado and the damage in Cordova (where we were working), if you click
HERE. There are also many other videos on youtube if you are interested.
We made the 3 hour drive down to middle Alabama.
Imagine Steven Haymore's voice "Oh my goodness. You can get an IL CHANGE here!"
We worked in a small town-- Cordova, Alabama. Cordova was hit by an F3 tornado at 5:00am and then 12 hours later was hit by an F4 tornado that split and became 2 tornadoes. So basically the town was hit by 3 tornadoes. The town was devastated. Most of the houses were not livable.
We spent most of the time clearing away debris and moving it close to the road so trucks can pick it up easier later on.
We spent a lot of time taking these:
(This tree is HUGE. The roots are probably 10 to 12 feet tall)
And sawing, cutting, dragging, carrying it to the road to look like this:
I didn't take very many before and after shots (I guess that's a good thing-- I was working, not photo-documenting). Here is the pile during my first water break:
And here it is at my second water break:
Here we can see the wild species of Bearded Brian in it's natural habitat:
This yard was full of tree debris! As we chopped it all up and hauled it out, we uncovered a lamppost and a garden statue! I think all the yellow Mormon Helping Hands t-shirts make us look like
Despicable Me's minions. No?
Lunch break:
This carport was totally mangled and the poor blue geo was crushed by the sheet metal and a tree.
The "Mormon Helping Hands" tent city where we stayed.
Random pic: We were driving behind this van... do you think they meant "Litter"?
We were guessing by the architecture that this brick house was built in the late 1800s. We heard that the people who lived there had just bought it and were renovating it. They didn't have home insurance yet.
You can see the path the tornadoes took. Trees are completely scattered but just past them the trees are untouched.
Can you see the sheet metal wrapped around the branch at the top of the tree?
It's hard to see, but that white house had been picked up and shifted off of it's foundation. It slid a good 10-15 feet off of it's foundation.
I loved the rainbow painted on the wall inside this bedroom.
Roll tide!
(Not only does everyone in the south have strong allegiances to college football, they display it grandiosely! No small window-cling stickers of their Alma Mater... every car (truck) had HUGE displays of collegiate football support. I was sad I didn't get any pictures of the trucks.)
Headed back to Tennessee.
There were a LOT of us and we worked SO hard, and still we barely made a dent. It was devastating to be uncovering toys, clothes, tax documents, etc from underneath piles of roof shingles, downed trees, and building materials.
The people in Cordova were so grateful, and so hospitable! All day long people were driving up giving us sack lunches, waters, gatorade, and other treats. I felt so blessed to meet the amazing people who live in Cordova,
and even shower in the locker room of the 2007 state high school football champions (Go Cordova Blue Devils!).
In the South, many people say "Have a Blessed day" instead of "Have a good day". The cashier at walmart, the text at the bottom of receipts, and people passing in the street. It's one of the many sweet, quaint bits of southern culture that I just love!
So, have a blessed day, y'all! Especially those of you in Alabama!
We spent most of the day on Mud Island, where they have a wading river that is replica of the Mississippi River scaled down to .5 mile. The cool water felt so good on such a hot day!
Brian crushing the mini dam.
Drying off.
We ate at "Gus's World Famous Chicken." It was rather good, if a little spicy.
After walking down Beale Street (just to say that we have), we went to the theater for Beauty and the Beast.
