Severe Weather

April for us often means tornadoes.  We were kept awake last night by the severe weather and the warnings of James Spann.  We are mentally preparing for more tonight.  Our basement is ready for Eric, Booker and me...plus neighbors Joel, Angie, their two boys and possibly Jillian, Danny and their son Noah.  We have a neighborhood of many homes without basements and I am afraid for people without basements.  I think of Reba.  I'm sure Eric does, too.  It has been three years and two days since I found her mailing label in our roses...

Smith Institute, about twenty minutes away from Gadsden, was hit badly.  Eric worked the area this morning with his camera, documenting the damage. His text to me later, "Man, it's bad."  He found our friends Jacob and Hilary who live in that community.  They were okay.  Their house was not. Virginia and Kenny ended up with their garage pushed into their kitchen.  They are okay, too, though.  And Tami and Jimmy, whose home is down the road a piece from Virginia and Kenny's place, had debris in their yard, but no damage.  As far as we can tell, there has thankfully been no loss of life.

My talented friend Cookie Beck wrote a poem and posted it to Facebook during all the weather related activities last night.  For such a stressful time, it was a moment of clarity and hilarity for this Alabama girl:

33/40

he reads Tweets
and says things like
"complicated polygon"
"lead circulation"
"possible rotation"
and he apologizes that
we are missing 'Wheel of Fortune' right now.
Shhhh.
don't you be sorry, James.
your suspenders
are my Tornado Safe Place.

Y'all be safe out there.