Wednesday night's tornadoes have left so much devastation in their wake. It's still very, very hard to fathom. While I don't have any family here and don't really know where some of the towns affected are located on the map, I certainly know how it feels to be worried about loved ones and friends. For us, this is reminiscent of 9/11. The not knowing, the who, the what, where. The rumors, the desperation to find out any information, the sense of wanting to help but not even knowing where to start, the greving process. The rebuilding.
All of my chicks were in the next Wednesday night when the storms hit. We were watching James Spann on TV and saw the tornado touchdown in Ttown. Shortly after that we lost power until 9 or 10 PM. We had our phones and FB and Twitter but had no idea what was happening downtown Bham or north of the city. Then, our cell phones died and we couldn't charge them because the power was out. When the power finally did come on, we didn't have cable so we didn't realize the magnatitude of the storm until Thursday morning. Immediately, Cosmo started texting and FB'ing his "boys" @ Alabama to make sure everyone was OK. We sat at the kitchen table and made a quick list of the students we could think of: not only his Hoover lax boys but the boys we know from other schools in Birmingham, the kids from our neighborhood, so and so's son from work, the dentist's daughter, girls T danced w/ at the studio, KJ's teacher's son, our friend Randy's neice, older siblings of some of the girl's friends, friends in the Huntsville area, etc. All day long we updated each other, "Ok, I heard from XXX; he's OK." "I just spoke w/ XXX's mom, they didn't get in touch w/ her until late last night but she's safe." Thankfully, everyone we know is safe and accounted for.
On Friday, there was a bright ray of sunshine when the ENTIRE planet watched the Royal Wedding. The females in my house are obsessed with Kate, Will, Harry and of course, Pippa! Kate Middleton is so elegant, so mature, so classy and so incredibly poised. I think Diana is looking down and is thoroughly pleased with her son's choice for a wife.
We TiVo'd the big event PLUS all of the shows leading up to it: stuff on TLC, 20/20, E, etc. Still can't get enough! KJ and I were watching a show on Charles & Diani and saw some of their wedding day footage. KJ said, "Mom. She doesn't look very happy." And she really didn't. Looking back now, everyone can see the sadness and sorrow in her eyes. Kate, on the other hand, really seemed to enjoy the moment. From the minute she walked out of the car with her father, she seemed to be taking it all in and savoring every bit of it. We all agree that Wills is not going to age well and will be totally bald by his 30th b-day. Harry, on the other hand, was the goofy looking one and is now quite handsome and rugged. Pippa, well, Pippa kind of stole a little of the spotlight from her big sister. She is just as stunningly beautiful and elegant as her sister and that MOH dress was to die for. I love the photos of Pippa holding the little girl's hands and corralling them into the Abbey and I also LOVE the photos of her helping Kate w/ her train. Their mom, Carol, also looked very beautiful. Fergie's kids, on the other hand, looked ridiculous in their crazy hats.
Then, last night Americans rec'd word that Osma Bin Laden has been killed and buried at sea in keeping with the Muslim custom of being buried within 24 hours. When I got into work this morning, a friend ask how I felt about Bin Laden being killed. As a New Yorker, do I feel vindicated? Do I have some closure? My answer, No. Not because I'm vengeful but because it will not bring back the friends we lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment