throwback

Lately I've been recalling songs or bits of songs that I remember from my childhood. There are some mental images in my mind that I have no photo of and could never recreate for anyone, but they are still there, clear as ever.

The church I grew up in had hardwood floors. The floors were from the boards of the original church building, and the pews had been made by the men (hence they were too tall for almost everyone else and there were wooden foot benches for many of the women who were under 5'). By the time I cam along there were carpet runners in the aisles and up front. But between the pews...pure hardwood. And when the men started tapping their feet to the music, it was like a drumbeat.

This song came to mind last week while we were all fervently praying for my cousin's wife. Clint Short was a WWII vet, a German POW, who had a beautiful voice (and big feet). I can hear his heel tapping out the beat as his head bobbed and he sang this song. As a kid I often wondered if he was trying to get the music leader to speed it up (he tended to sing songs super slow), but now I wonder if he was simply meditating on the words.

Have faith in God when your pathway is lonely.
He sees and knows all the way you have trod;
Never alone are the least of His children;
Have faith in God, have faith in God.

Have faith in God when your prayers are unanswered,
Your earnest plea He will never forget;
Wait on the lord, trust His word and be patient,
Have faith in God. He'll answer yet.

Have faith in God in your pain and your sorrow,
His heart is touched with your grief and despair;
Cast all your cares and your burdens upon Him,
And leave them there, oh, leave them there.

Have faith in God though all else fall about you;
Have faith in God, He provides for His own:
He cannot fail though all kingdoms shall perish.
He rules. He reigns upon His throne.

Refrain:

Have faith in God, He's on His throne,
Have faith in God, He watches over His own;
He cannot fail, He must prevail,
Have faith in God, Have faith in God.

A week ago today

A week ago today we were very tired, and when I called the hospital to see how Mom's night went, Dad said they would be coming home before the day was out. I know that hospitals can take a very long time and that lunch time would be the earliest she would be home, and early to late evening could also be a very real possibility. Dad didn't want us to drive back to B'ham and told us not to come. So we did something I've wanted to do for a long time but have never had the time to do when "go home". I visited what was "home" to me. And it was good, and it was heartbreaking.

 The town of Cordova is slowly rebounding from the two tornadoes that devastated the area six years ago. There's a new town hall, a new fire station, as well as several other changes. But the picture above is one of the views that absolutely made me gasp. The parking lot where I took the photo is from the Cordova Free Will Baptist Church, where my Dad pastored. For the 14 years I lived there, the only thing you could see from this spot was trees. The brick building to the left (part of the Methodist Church) was not visible, and is across Green Ave. The white building with blue awnings is down the hill and halfway across what used to be downtown. It would not have even been visible from the Methodist parking lot when I was growing up. Its location is the old hardware store my uncle managed, but is now the new Piggly Wiggly (aka "The Pig"), the town's new and only grocery store. (The old store was at the base of the hill and was damaged by the tornadoes. 3 of the 4 people who died were in that area.) And the white houses in the distance? That's clear across the railroad tracks, not far from the post office. Had I not known where I was, I don't think I'd have recognized my little mill town. It reminded me of all those small towns you pass through in the mountains. I so wish there was a before picture to show you just how stark the difference is.

 The parsonage front view from Green Ave. It has a different roof from when I lived there, and the two trees are cut down from the front yard. I loved those trees only because they offered shade when cutting grass. But the growth of trees and shrubs in places they shouldn't be (there's two sets of steps not visible here), and the crawl space door is totally gone. The house looks abandoned. I know the church is all but gone and they don't have a preacher, but with so many people needing homes I would have thought they'd have at least rented it out.

 And the view from the back side, but is/was used as the main entrance. Left is the garage and washer/dryer hook-ups, the indented area is a screened in porch. First three windows is the kitchen area, next two was the den (sometimes used by us a bedroom), the next double windows were a small bedroom, then the last two windows goes to the larger bedroom which my sisters and I all shared at various points.

 The screen door is missing to the porch. And our family put up the basketball goal, though this is not the one we installed. And another shocking view to the left of the house...used to be solid trees. Driving down Green Ave was always like driving through a canopy of greenery in the spring. It looked like a forest across the road.

Several houses have burned in the neighborhood or simply been neglected. It was so sad to see. So many good and happy memories from that little part of town.

But it was nice to have a few hours to drive around and show Bobby where I went to school and places that he's heard stories about but never seen. And I now understand how Mom's generation who lived there when the mill was open and the mines were running full force would shake their head during my youth and talk about how the town used to look. I fear in 20 years there may not be a town unless things change.

recovery

Today marks the 4 year anniversary of my hometown being hit by two tornadoes, killing 4 people and demolishing Main Street. The first two years of recovery seemed to be nothing but meetings and paperwork as FEMA and the Alabama Historical Commission could not seem to get their requirements in line with each other and a tiny town with no insurance and little initiative seemed to find meeting the basic necessities of a town all it could handle. Today, I'm happy to report that things are still slowly improving, though there's still many miles ahead.

The new City Hall is under construction. (www.cityofcordova.org)

And the new Piggly Wiggly (located where the Hardware Store used to be, due to the 100 year flood plain guidelines), which opened last year (I think).  www.cityofcordova.org

I was thinking about it this morning as the news was showing coverage from Nepal. We are SO blessed to live in a country that can provide humanitary aid in times of crisis, and that no matter how bad things were in the state of Alabama (200 people died that day, and over 92 towns were tremendously destroyed), it's not even a blink of the trauma that is facing Nepal today. I was glad to read that India and China were immediately sending in assistance, both supplies and rescue workers, and that other nations were waiting on the airport to clear. It's sad that our world only works together during times of natural disasters, but at least we're still doing that.

basketball

A week ago today (to be exact) we had the opportunity to see Carly play in her last basketball game of the year. We were a little late leaving, so we didn't arrive at the school until halftime. The games were at Sumiton Christian Academy. I knew where the school was located, but had never actually visited the campus. We arrived. Went inside the gym, and met my brother-in-law on his way out. I heard him ask the lady at the ticket table "Where are the 9&10 year olds? I've been waiting to see my daughter's team come out for an hour." The lady laughed a little and said "They're in a different gym." She then gave him directions. I hated he had to wait that long, but was thankful we met him when we did or we would have missed her entirely!

When we arrived at the 2nd gym, a group of parents with 7&8 year olds were asking when their team would play, and the ticket table was sending them to the gym where we had just left. Crazy!

Carly after getting bumped in the mouth. She reminds me SO much of my younger sis.

D-D-D-Defense
(yes, I still remember the basketball cheers from my jr high cheerleading days! :)

The pictures are not the best and are fuzzy, but I forgot my good camera. I had the zoom here at full length on my pocket camera, so I'm thankful they turned out as well as they did. Go Lady Devils!

tragedy

Last night my Facebook feeds were filling up with posts and newslinks from home, as there was another gas explosion.  I should say "gas explosion" and not "another" as the last one was almost 25 years ago when I was in high school. But I've not forgotten it. I still remember the blast, how our house shook, how we thought it was a train that derailed and crashed, and then the fear and concern as we heard sirens coming near our house, stepped out side, and saw the flames reaching up above the tree tops. An older couple died, one immediately, one later.  To this day gas makes me a little nervous.

As the night wore on and more details became now, I heard that three workers from Cordova's utility company were injured. Found out this morning one of them was a classmate from high school. The hospital kept him overnight for observation. The last time I saw him was at our one and only reunion a few years ago, and he was sharing his fears from the day the two tornadoes hit our small town.  As I look at the photo below, from www.abc3340.com, I'm reminded that none of us are promised tomorrow, or even the next minute.

Praying for my hometown today - for those who had not heat for a while due to gas cutoffs, for those living nearby whose homes were damaged, for the grieving families, for the injured workers, and the firemen who worked the scene. 

memories

Back in the late '90s, even those of us who had cheap cameras didn't take a lot of pictures, especially of every day events. Film and developing costs money. Money that if we did have, we'd much rather spend on something fun than a piece of paper to tape to the wall of our locker or stick in a photo book.

CHS Class of '91 lost another classmate this weekend. I pulled out our senior yearbook and looked through our senior section, reminisced a little, but only one person had a photo to post, and she took the most pictures of anyone in our class. As much as I dislike cell phones, especially smart phones, and the rudeness they bring out in people, I do think it's neat that today's generation can easily capture a moment or a memory, and pull it up years later.

Before we marched out the night of our graduation, our principal told us to pause and slowly look around at everyone, that it might be the last time we saw a classmate, that even if we had reunions every 5 years, it was likely that by our first reunion someone might be gone. It was a sobering and killjoy thought, one of those things boring grownups say that seems so annoying and irrelevant. But I did quickly scan the class. And now 23 years later, I wish it had been a true look and not just a scan. There's something troubling to see ages read 25, 39, and 41 in an obituary, especially when the other obits read 70s and 80s. I know we all have an appointment with death, even if we don't know when it is, and none of us are guaranteed a long life. But it still troubles me, and leave me wondering what could have been.

a reminder

Some good things have been happening in my hometown lately:

• a news promotional piece highlighting the Auburn University students who have volunteered their summer, time and energy and made Cordova an engineering project. They've developed plans for downtown that incorporates flood plains, and they're also underwriting all the grant projects. 
• a manufacturer of playground equipment is donating some playground equipment similar to what they have at White Deer Park, since all their antique swingsets and broken down jungle gym was destroyed
• a group has taken on the Veteran's Memorial (which was only a few years old when the tornado hit it) and have raised about 1/4 of the money needed to replace it

So I guess all of these activities has me thinking a lot about the tornadoes and the horrible changes my hometown has faced this last year and a half. There are plans to re-open the grocery store in a new location. It's now a matter of when and not if.  Last week when had sevearl bad storms and some fairly fast-paced clouds moving, my mind instantly went back to childhood tornado drills and then my hometown.

And that's when I saw this:

This photo doesn't do it justice, but I needed this reminder, so very much. It made my heart sing. As that old spiritual our choir sometimes sings goes:

No, we are not alone.

We are not alone.

God is with us.

He is with us.

Forever and ever,

We are never alone.

No, not alone.



heartaches and happiness

Heartache- seeing this much open space that used to be a hill full of trees and houses
Happiness - seeing this many cars turn out, more than I ever remember, for the Homecoming Parade. Yes, Cordova is STILL a community!

the Long House,  built in the late 1880s. Crews are working in hopes of restoring it, though after seeing the sides, Bobby wonders if it's even possible. Even more heartwreching (besides the fact a classmate of mine from high school used to live there), is that the view of this house should be obscured by the Methodist church, now demolished.

The "Pig" (Piggly Wiggly), which was a Son's Supermarket when I lived there, was where I had my first official job. FEMA says it's in a 100-year flood plain, meaning the town's only grocery store will receive no assistance if they decide to rebuild.

While happy my town finally erected a monument to honor its fallen, it made me VERY unhappy to see it still in pieces 5 months after the tornadoes. I wanted to find some tubs of crazy glue and put it back together, at least until it can be replaced. I recognize finding people places to live and restoring homes and businesses are top priority (and still an on-going process), but couldn't we at least pick up these pieces?)

The library...and now at this point the tears are rolling.

The drugstore where all the rich kids went for ice cream after the pep rallies
and where the old men went to drink coffee and read the paper in the morning.

The old devil ain't what he used to be...much smaller head and no costume on the bottom!
But...he has a much cooler pitchfork than he did two decades ago.

Rural areas...being a school superintendent is a BIG deal and worth riding in parades!  Of course, he is a Cordova native.

New from a previous decades, teachers walk in the parade! Here is the current CHS principal, Kathy Vincent, dressed as Minnie Mouse. Mrs. Vincent was my HS typing teacher, and a Christian who truly cared about her job and students.

Definitely new to CHS--girls' volleyball! Back in the day, cheerleading, softball and band were the only activities available for girls.

It was great to see that Cordova's Fire Department was well stocked with firetrucks after losing 4 of the 5 engines in the spring tornadoes. The "new" trucks might still bear the names of other towns, but they are present and functioning. The fire chief, on the left, is Dean Harbison, and a former band buddy. He's helping co-ordinate the recovery efforts.

What's left of the Hardware store where my Uncle Charlie worked.

A new and pleasant addition to the press box.

All but one of the classmates who showed up Sat night. We actually had a few others at the game Friday night. It was so good to catch up. So much has happened in everyone's life, both good and bad.  We also lost a classmate 10 years ago.

And classmates with spouses and friends. It was a wonderful night and fun weekend.

Football Friday

Pictures will come next week.
Tonight, I will join classmates of 20 years ago at a reserved section of a football game.
I will cheer and clap.
But I will go home happy, regardless of the outcome. I'm weird that way.
Then tomorrow, we will all meet to talk and catch up, eat dinner, and....watch football.
That's what happens when you live in Alabama.
Go Blue Devils and Roll Tide!

today

the view from a neighboring town of the tornado finishing up Cordova, AL

the am tornado hit main street

and a longer view of main street

hurt, tears, fear, pain
disbelief, shock, unknown
neighbors helping, people gathering, townfolks walking miles to see

we drill for years; prepare for the day
but when it comes, what can we say?

oh powerful force, the awe of God
destructive winds, my heart-torn land

the canopy of hanging trees, my daily drive, the sight i'd see
all now gone, blocking roads, collapsed on cars, crushing homes

buildings and jobs we can replace
but not the souls of Cordova's face   

In memory of the nine who died.
In honor of the ones who rebuild...