🏈 Let's take a moment to remember

[UAgrad93]

It was 4 years ago on this date that a massive tornado ripped through our favorite city and claimed 255 lives. I remember that our school was released early due to the possible bad weather headed toward the Eastern side of the state. I watched James Spann as live footage of the tornado that ripped through Tuscaloosa aired. My thoughts and prayers immediately went to those people there. I had several former students attending college there at the time and their faces flashed before me.
My son and I went to the baseball game that following Saturday and I cried as I approached 15th Street from McFarland BLVD. What I saw broke my heart. What I saw next raised my hope and spirit in humanity as I saw people helping one another regardless of their SES and or race. My son and I delivered a truckload of items to the baseball stadium. They were promoting bringing in such items and getting in free.
Take a moment and remember those that lost so much that day. ROLL TIDE!!

 

[PhillyGirl]

and also so much love to all 324 souls taken that day, to all injured or hurt or who lost a loved one or pet or home, to all affected in any way.

 

[BamaFan334]

Ripped right thought Forest Lake where my house is. Definitely a sobering thought. It will never look the same, but it is nice to see all of the construction going on to rebuild the area.

 

[psychojoe]

My office also closed early that day. I can remember the events of that day so clearly that it is hard to believe it happened four years ago. Where I live, in Pelham, actually got through tht night with no damage, but many of my co-workers in the greater Birmingham area were not so fortunate. A friend and her husband had gone to their basement. The storm hit, and when it passed they were seeing the stars.

What impressed me in the aftermath was how many people were willing to jump in and help out the unfortunate victims.

 

[planomateo]

Coach Grant attending the memorial yesterday. :clap:

 

[psychojoe]

That speaks very well of Coach Grant. But there never was any question about his personal qualities.

 

[sean]

i can still remember the utter fear i felt when i was watching it unfold on tv that day and the videos that were shown later.

it all felt so surreal to me and i don't think it really ever hit me that it was real until i went down there later that year and saw the destruction first-hand. even then, it was still pretty unbelievable.

to this day, you can see remnants of the aftermath; trees still bent over that will never be the same, businesses still closed, houses still gone...most likely never to be rebuilt (unfortunately).

but the city and its people and its team persevered. they came together to rebuild to start to get back to some semblance of normalcy in their lives; while at the same time they had to learn to heal.

when something like that happens to a city and its people, that city and its people will never be the same.....but that's not always a bad thing, there is some good that comes out of it. something like that...it just helps to bring out the humanity in those that might not otherwise show it.