Swept Away

I've lived in Alabama since 1999 and have never felt as connected as I do now.

Growing up in South Mississippi, hurricanes and the fear of them, was a regular part of life. Losing your power for about a week every other summer was kind of fun. You got to eat junkfood and hamburgers and of course, no school. I remember after Elena in 1985, a LARGE tree just missed our house and landed in our swimming pool. We couldn't get it removed for weeks so the pool became our own little zoo. Animals used it as shelter and there was a particularly funny armadillo that we couldn't wait to wake up and catch up on.

When I moved to Alabama, their severe weather coverage made me giggle. It seemed like they would stay on air for 12 hours if there was a thunderstorm 100 miles away from Birmingham. It seemed to me they would shut down schools and close businesses over nothing. The best was the grocery stores...people would made bread and water runs like the end of the world was near. Here I am, this seasoned Coast Rat, who knew REAL weather situations and these funny Alabamians were whining over a little bit of hail.

That attitude changed on Tuesday last week. F4 & F5 tornadoes hit all over *MY* state. Hundreds of people are dead. Entire cities have been completely wiped out. Memorable locations are gone. Mothers don't know what to tell their children. It's awful and beyond heartbreaking.

But what has made Alabama *MY* state now, what is making me give up my proudly held "Mississippi Girl" label, is the people. These people have a resilience I've never seen. These people have a sense of community that is untouchable. These people have a work ethic that can't be beat. These people, *my* people now, have an internal Godliness that can thankfully be found right here in best of the Bible belt.

I'm an Alabamian now...it took me nearly 12 years, but I'm one of them and I've never been more proud.