We can make it

I grew up in the South (Southwest really – it was Texas), and one of the things I remember the most vividly are the tornado warnings.  The sirens would go off and the sky would get dark and green and the rain would fall sideways.  You’d go to the center of the house, a bathroom or closet, and pray real hard you didn’t hear a train coming your way.  It happened a lot growing up and my family and I were fortunate – we never heard the locomotive.  None of the big black rotating cylinders ever chose our neighborhood, although my Dad, who traveled for a living, arrived in Waco and twice in Lubbock immediately after one danced through leaving destruction and death in its path.

Once he arrived just in time to take a friend home to find his family.  Daddy said they pulled up and all that was standing was the closet door in their living room.  The rest of their new home was destroyed and scattered – much of it was leaning on the closet door and walls.  Inside was the man’s wife and new baby.  Daddy talked about straw driven through plate windows at the local record shop and trees standing stripped naked in fields that once were someone’s lawn.  It terrified me then and it does now.

My Southern Living just arrived and one of my favorite authors, Rick Bragg, shares the story of his return home in the Glendale Gardens neighborhood of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, after the tornado of April 27, this year.  Growing up in the South(west) it is a story I’ve heard a hundred times and one that will be repeated a hundred times more – but what he shares is what should give each of us hope in tough times.  He writes about the aftermath of the tornado, but what it’s really about is what makes this country and those who live here special.  People who lost everything they had but their lives reached out to share what little was left with their neighbors – even neighbors they didn’t know – even neighbors not on their street or in their community.

There’s no question these are tough times, but if you question whether we can make it – what we’ll do if times really get tough – I encourage you to grab the August Southern Living.  Turn first to the last page, where Bragg will tell you about the school play that was held in spite of the tornado.  Then go to page 90 and find “What Stands in a Storm.”  We can make it – in spite of layoffs, foreclosures, gas prices that make you dizzy, there is a lot going on that is good.  We can make it if we remember to support our friends and neighbors and our community.  Complaining doesn’t fix it but working together can.

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2 Responses to “We can make it”
  1. Crystal Graham says:

    Nice blog Kathy! Working together is the key! Keep up all you do for downtown Waynesboro!

  2. What exactly truly encouraged u to post “We can make it | Murder Is A Game .
    .. and Other Pastimes”? Ihonestly adored the blog post!

    Thanks -Quentin