[CaptTom]

Sometimes you have to see what happens to others (due to no cause of their own) to appreciate what you have. As a disaster manager for my day job, I traveled to Alabama two days after the onslaught of tornadoes that ripped through Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky and other states on April 27. Well, to say that our neighbors in the "Sweet Home" state took it on the chin is an understatement. The following photos were from various towns and communities in AL and MS as my team criss-crossed the states, helping not only our company and employees, but the communities with communications, cell phones, services and more.

The following is a note I sent to some of my disaster colleagues the third evening I was there. Right after sending out the note, it was announced thet the US got Bin Laden. Needless to say, all the news since then has been about the attack and not nearly enough about the tornado situation. Perhaps our focus gets a bit skewed.

Some days you just have to count your blessings.

Friends,

It’s late Sunday night, May 1 and I’m sitting in a hotel in Birmingham, AL. I’m responding with my Crisis Response Team to the tornado disaster that occurred this past Wednesday, from Mississippi to Kentucky and further.

Having supported our team throughout hard hit areas of Alabama and Mississippi, I can’t tell you how bad the situation is here for those that have been impacted. Whole communities have been wiped out. Towns line Hackleburg, AL and Smithville, MS no longer stands. Neighborhoods have been fractured. Over 340 people have been lost.

Amongst the destruction and dire situation is something stronger; the human spirit. People here in the heart of the Bible Belt have faith. People here give thanks while standing in the ruins of their homes. People here are resilient. And people, total strangers from near and far, have come to help their fellow human beings with rummaging through the debris fields, picking up whatever they could find of their shattered lives. Strangers offer a cold bottle of water on a hot day. Strangers offer food. Strangers offer a shoulder to lean on. Strangers offer a smile.

This is a heart-wrenching situation. I have not seen this level or degree of destruction before, from hurricanes or wildfires. Mother Nature has unleashed her fury on towns like Huntsville, Cullman, Pleasant Grove, Toney, Tuscaloosa, parts of Birmingham and many other towns and cities in Alabama and surrounding states like we have never seen before on this magnitude. See the photos that are attached. A small sampling of the situation these folks are dealing with. Rebuilding will take years.

I ask that you keep these people in your thoughts and prayers. Pray for the responders who need to be as strong to deal with what they are facing. Offer anything you can. If asked to donate a dollar to the cause, give them two. Donate money, diapers, and new clothes, anything that will ease the pain for those that went through so much.

There are hundreds of stories here, of survival, of thanks, of pain. One couple invited me into their home, showing that the tornado’s winds ran through the house, blowing out the entire side wall of the two story home, but sparing their daughter’s bedroom, where she was hiding. One young fellow was retrieving anything he could from his apartment that was literally blown off the foundation and destroyed. I offered him and his helpers a case of water. He hugged me. ****!

Corporate America is responding financially and with in-kind donations. Thank those that have.

We need to be ready for anything. Be prepared not only at your business but at home with your families. Never say never. Disasters happen anytime, anywhere.

Reach out and help your fellow American, fellow human. They can really use it now.

All the best,

Tom

[CaptTom]

Some more...

[CaptTom]

Last few.

[JWY]

http://www.youtube.com/embed/G6giQ3csbUg

Horrific, and it affected so much geography and so many people. And it certainly didn't get the sustained newsworthy attention the people deserved.

Judy

[Laurence]

Here's a few photos from damage at Alreds marina on Lake Guntersville, Alabama. Fortunately (or not), my boat was at the boatyard up river.

[NYCAP123]

That disaster is now being followed by almost unprecedented flooding along the Mississippi and a record drought in Texas. My big question is, Where are the disaster relief teams and the donations from the nations we've helped?

[Old Phart]

Originally Posted by NYCAP123

That disaster is now being followed by almost unprecedented flooding along the Mississippi and a record drought in Texas. My big question is, Where are the disaster relief teams and the donations from the nations we've helped?

You're a funny guy!

[GFC]

Originally Posted by NYCAP

My big question is, Where are the disaster relief teams and the donations from the nations we've helped?

They're sitting in their vaults looking a lot like Scrooge McDuck...



and laughing their butts off over our misery.

[revdcs]

Not fair! Most of the nations which the US, the UK and other wealthy countries have helped through disaster over the past thirty years, are still in financial trouble as a result of what they have suffered.

You are also forgetting the hundreds of thousands of private individuals as well as hard pressed charities who are giving what they can.

Yes, some despotic nations have taken advantage of 'debt relief' and there will always be those who will enrich themselves through free handouts which are destined for others, even in the USA. But to make the blanket statement that those who have suffered disaster have profited from it and do not care when the same thing happens to others, is wrong.

[NYCAP123]

You are also forgetting the hundreds of thousands of private individuals as well as hard pressed charities who are giving what they can.

I haven't forgotten anyone. I haven't heard of them in the first place to forget. What charities are taking up collections for the victims of the Missippippi floods and the tornados? Who are sending checks so our poor that are living on the streets and in shelters can get the help they need? Does the world even know or care about the people who are living in our subway tunnels and off the sides of our highways in the woods? Does this stuff even make the newspapers in other areas of the world? As we cut our social programs does anybody recognize that as anything but a budget issue? Ever hear of a mashed potatoe sandwich? They're made with powdered potatoes, and a lot of kids have them 3 meals a day. They were invented in the U.S.

[K1W1]

Originally Posted by NYCAP123

I haven't forgotten anyone. I haven't heard of them in the first place to forget.

Israel, Iran.Iraq are the names of a few

Originally Posted by NYCAP123

Ever hear of a mashed potatoe sandwich?

Not till I read your post and googled it, I like mash and think I will try one now I have read this.

Originally Posted by NYCAP123

They were invented in the U.S.

Not according to this guy: http://jamesmcintosh.wordpress.com/2...to-sandwiches/

[NYCAP123]

The SSM is the American version. Add a little ketsup fron McD's, and it's pretty good...at least for the first few days. It fills you up too, although there's not much nutritional value. A little extra water makes two meals from one. Enjoy.