12/27/2010

What Does It Mean?




In 1983, a tornado blew our house down on us. As the house shifted to the half in and half our of the downstairs, it broke off the gas meter. When everything stopped moving, I could see that Barb and Dave were both unharmed and able to get out of the rubble. I was still trapped against the foundation by a vanity, the furnace and a hot water heater. It was all I could do to move the pile up just enough to move a few inches forward. I told barb to get out and take David with her. I continued to lift the pile and crawl forward. Finally after a few minutes I cleared the pile. All the time I expected the gas to explode but because the electricity was shut off by the storm luckily there was no fire. A few minutes after the tornado passed, the sun was out and people started showing up. One of those people was an employee of the Gas Company and he crawled under the pile in the back yard and shut off the gas meter. What was left was a pile of stuff and little that was any where as important as the fact that My wife and Son were alive and well. I wasn't exactly pissed off to be out of the pile, but it wasn't about me as much as my family.

Based on that and much good fortune also, I often say I have everything I need and most of what I want and a Walmart near by. I apologise if you or anyone else think it is bragging about things just related to money. While I am truly blessed to have a good life after a lifetime of working, the true blessing to me is the love and life of my wife and son.

MUD

3 comments:

  1. Dang, MUD! I've had one rip right past me, and my town got destroyed by one in 1978.

    But, Shazzaaaaaam! That's scary, my friend! Being right there in a house with it coming apart must be ONE HELPLESS FEELING.

    Stuff like that (shared adversity) can really bind a family closer.

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  2. MUD, After knowing your family was O.K., that must have been one sick feeling looking at how your home had been destroyed. Kind of like, where do we go from here? Our home is built on a slab, guess we are SOL if we ever get hit!

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  3. Most DEFINITELY a "count your blessings" moment!

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