Six Months

I can't believe it has been exactly six months since the April, 27th tornados. I remember that day like it was yesterday and I am sure I will remember it forever. The entire day was just a strange day all together. I was woken up around 5:30 that morning by the threat of early morning storms. Thankfully, those storms did not hit where I was. Little did I know, I would be a direct target later that day. I sat in Starbucks in Tuscaloosa that day for several hours working on a final project that I would never have to turn in. I had a seat right by the window and I kept noticing the sky getting darker and darker. I finally decided that I should head over to a friend's apartment just in case the weather decided to take a turn for the worse. After getting Chick F Lay and attempting to do our homework, James Spann began to grab our attention more that our homework assignments. After several panicked phone calls from our families in Birmingham, we decided to go to another apartment on the bottom floor of the building. We continued working on our homework until we heard James Spann say, "If you are a student at the University of Alabama, take shelter now, It is heading straight for you". Right after this was said, the power went out. We stepped on to the back porch to check things out and after seeing the tornado, we ran inside for cover. We went into a closet underneath the stairs. Right when we closed the door to the closet, the apartment began to shake and we could hear the windows begin to shatter. The tornado sounded like a mix between a jet and an airplane. We new the exact moment when the tornado was over us because out ears were popping and the building was shaking violently. Suddenly, everything got quite and the worried phone calls began to pour in. 

This is the first things I saw when I walked outside 

I found these soldiers in my car when I was cleaning out the glass

Poor Heidi

When we stepped outside, I was shocked. The apartment I was in was not more than 300 yards from complete devastation. I had no idea that the storm was that bad. The further we walked, the worse it got. The Starbuck I was in just a few short ours earlier was destroyed. Friend's houses were complete loses. Even though I didn't know anyone who lost their life that day, the town that I lived in for a few years was gone. At that point, I had live in Alabama my entire life and had the threat of tornadoes occur countless times. So much in fact, that I had assumed this one would just bring rain, thunder and a little bit of lightning. For days, Tuscaloosa did not have phone service which made i very difficult to get in touch with friends that were also in Tuscaloosa. Finding out that all of my friends were safe was a wonderful feeling.

Even though my friends and family were safe, many people were not so lucky. Please remember to keep Tuscaloosa, and other places that were in the path of this storm in your thoughts and prayers.