(no subject)
God, this has been one exhausting, depressing, heartbreaking, inspiring, awful, heartwarming week. I've been going with different groups each day to help in some of the most affected areas and the devastation is just.... there are no words. There are towns that are literally gone. Disappeared. There one minute and the next.... nothing. There are areas where homes and businesses are destroyed beyond belief, save for small pockets where it's almost like bubbles protected homes from any damage. I've met people who have lost everything and only have the clothes on their backs. Literally, just the clothes on their backs. I've talked to people who are missing family and friends, with no idea if they are alive or buried under rubble. 250 people have died, and so many are missing. It's beyond numbing.
A college student at the University of Alabama posted his account of the tornado and reading it, although he suffered far, far worse injuries than I did, it's scary how similar our experiences were. His is on a much larger scale than mine, but I was torn fro a closet when the back wall of the office was ripped away. I landed about 15 feet away from where I had been, but only suffered cuts, bruises and a minor concussion. Seeing pictures of the area where I had been, I have no doubt in my mind that it was only by the grace of God that I wasn't severely injured or worse. I'm so thankful that I'm okay and all my loved ones are fine.
Even with all the devastation, and the deaths and heartbreak and tragedy that permeate our lives now, I've also been amazed by the strength of my fellow Alabamians. The way we've rallied around one another, the supplies and money that have been pouring in, has helped to heal parts of me that are broken right now. With social networking so prevalent, people have made things happen that boggle my mind. Like, a call for use of an 18-wheeler to be donated to take supplies to various areas and within five minutes, three are offered. Or a request for optometrists to visit the numerous shelters and intake facilities to provide services and within an hour, 20 optometrists have set up shop. Or even something as simple as a request for a keyboard for a little girl who has lost everything and less than three minutes later, a keyboard has been donated and arrangements made to get it to her in the morning. Things like that have strengthened my faith in humanity and the resiliency of my state and its people.
But I'm also bitter and angry because I feel like this is not being talked about at all outside of the states hit by the tornadoes. And I know that's probably irrational because for all I know, it is, but I feel like I'm not seeing it or hearing about it outside of any Alabama-related sites. According to the government, the devastation in Alabama is a category one natural disaster, the same ranking as 9/11 and Katrina. And I feel like we're being glossed over, which I know, I know we're not, but having been surrounded by this destruction for a week, I guess I wish everyone would stop everything else and just.... fix my home. Fix my people and make everything better again.
A college student at the University of Alabama posted his account of the tornado and reading it, although he suffered far, far worse injuries than I did, it's scary how similar our experiences were. His is on a much larger scale than mine, but I was torn fro a closet when the back wall of the office was ripped away. I landed about 15 feet away from where I had been, but only suffered cuts, bruises and a minor concussion. Seeing pictures of the area where I had been, I have no doubt in my mind that it was only by the grace of God that I wasn't severely injured or worse. I'm so thankful that I'm okay and all my loved ones are fine.
Even with all the devastation, and the deaths and heartbreak and tragedy that permeate our lives now, I've also been amazed by the strength of my fellow Alabamians. The way we've rallied around one another, the supplies and money that have been pouring in, has helped to heal parts of me that are broken right now. With social networking so prevalent, people have made things happen that boggle my mind. Like, a call for use of an 18-wheeler to be donated to take supplies to various areas and within five minutes, three are offered. Or a request for optometrists to visit the numerous shelters and intake facilities to provide services and within an hour, 20 optometrists have set up shop. Or even something as simple as a request for a keyboard for a little girl who has lost everything and less than three minutes later, a keyboard has been donated and arrangements made to get it to her in the morning. Things like that have strengthened my faith in humanity and the resiliency of my state and its people.
But I'm also bitter and angry because I feel like this is not being talked about at all outside of the states hit by the tornadoes. And I know that's probably irrational because for all I know, it is, but I feel like I'm not seeing it or hearing about it outside of any Alabama-related sites. According to the government, the devastation in Alabama is a category one natural disaster, the same ranking as 9/11 and Katrina. And I feel like we're being glossed over, which I know, I know we're not, but having been surrounded by this destruction for a week, I guess I wish everyone would stop everything else and just.... fix my home. Fix my people and make everything better again.