'Sweet home Alabama. Where the skies are so blue.' Boy are they blue today!
My family moved to Alabama in 1994 when my Dad retired from the USAF. I went to High School in Billingsley, graduated from The University of Alabama and then made Montgomery my home. I've grown accustomed to hearing tornado sirens in the Spring. I have a safety plan. I even worked for a major insurance company for 6 years and have seen first hand the destruction of mother nature. But yesterday? Yesterday was something un-imaginable.
Dozens of tornadoes tore through the state including one that was a mile wide and devastated parts of Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. As I write this there have been 145 confirmed fatalities and the number is expected to climb as many are still missing.
From the mountains in Northern Alabama to the Gulf of Mexico, the real reason this state is known as 'Alabama the Beautiful' is the people. Alabamians created Southern hospitality. We love our state and each other more than we love football (and we LOVE football). My heart breaks for those that lost their homes and for the families that lost loved ones.
If you want to help them pick up the pieces and re-build, you can donate to the Red Cross here or text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10. Be sure to specify Alabama when prompted.
The state was hit hard yesterday, but the sun is shining today. I pray that everyone seeing the beautiful Alabama sky is reminded of how precious life is. Do something you love today!
*Yes, the skies are really that blue.
Thank you for this post! I grew up for the first 10 years of my life in Opelika (my Dad went to Auburn) and I have family in the Huntsville area and good friends in Tuscaloosa. I am contributing to help and it's so true that life is precious and it can change in an instant.
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