Good Friday, Bad Friday

Wayne, this is your parent's porch

across the street from the Soks

I believe that is someone's kitchen

This is the side of the Soks house

The Sok's house

It all started out as a normal Friday, except Rick was off work and we planned to take the kids to the Discovery Center. We got there about 11:45 and had packed the kids lunches and were going to eat there. When we got upstairs I noticed that the train table that Jacob so loves was gone. We played up there for a bit and then I headed down stairs to see where the train table was. I asked the lady at the front desk as she was getting off the phone, "Where's the train table?" She said it was broken and being fixed. Then she said, ma'am you need to take your children and take cover at the back of the center because a tornado is heading for Murfreesboro."

We went to the back and the kids didn't really know what was going on. All the parents tried to keep everything as normal as possible for them. We fed the kids lunch and that's when the lights went out and I think the storm was hitting. We had no cell service but I was able to make a call to my sister and mom to let them know where we were in case something happened, someone needed to know we weren't home. I was able to call my friend Brandi to ask what was going on b/c we didn't know anything. She was telling me what the news said about the different storms hitting Mboro.

After it went through, a lady from the discovery center said that the storm has passed, there's another one coming so if anyone wants to leave, you need to do it now. Without thinking we grabbed the kids and left and drove home in the loudest hail and rain, and a green sky. The clouds were so scary, it looked like they were dancing. Jacob kept telling me to turn it off b/c the sound was so loud. We made it home and I just broke down and cried when we walked in the door. My brother had just called and that probably freaked him out b/c all I could do was cry. Being in a storm is so different when you have kids who are relying on you to keep them safe, but in a storm like that, you can't ensure safety.

We have several friends who's houses are destroyed. This morning my curiosity got the best of me and we headed out with a video camera and digital camera. Once we got into neighborhoods that had been hit, I didn't have the heart to take pictures of homes where the people are standing in what was their yard yesterday morning and now is a graveyard of their memories. We somehow made it into a neighborhood where my friend's parents live. They were only letting residents and officials in but I guess we made it down a side road. I wanted to check on the Soks to see if they were ok and I couldn't even recognize the streets. The houses were on small lots and when you looked around what once was about 20 houses on this block was now about 10.

Close to this is where the two deaths occurred. A mom and her 9 week old daughter. I am just thankful that is the worst b/c when you look at these houses you would have to wonder how people made it out ok. I can only imagine how scared my friends parents were as the tornado went over there house and ripped part of the outside wall off. You could see straight in their attic. Then 3 houses down, all there was, was a foundation, the shrubs around the house, and that's it. I don't know where their house it. Then the house across the street was literally a pile of 2x4s.

The good thing about all this was the community that showed up to help. There were lots of people handing out food and water. I saw some friends of mine from college who were fraternity brothers of Wayne's. I don't even think they called to see if help was needed. They just knew where Wayne's parents lived and one of them bought a chain saw and headed over there. Amazing spirits we all have when the need arises.

The destruction is so much more devastating when this is the town you live in and know like the back of your hand. These people are neighbors, we go to church with them, we work with them, we are friends with them. They need us more than they ever have before and we need to be there with what ever we can do. It renews my faith in people. I was prepared to drop Rick off and let him help, but they said that they almost had too much help. So we're going to check in with them next week after all the help is gone and everyone goes back to their normal lives.

Obviously these pictures don't do it justice.