How many words in a picture?

I had a blog that I wanted to post Friday, but I got caught up in too much work.  It's below the tornado pictures that had me so busy upon my return from Myrtle Beach and Wiscon.  I think they're good enough reason why I have not been online very much.

You see, an F-3 tornado hit my hometown… the neighborhood where I grew up.

My brother standing on one of the streets hit hard by the tornado.

Mangled street signs.

A New View: Now we can see the Wilbraham hills where we once only saw trees and houses.

 

Looking down my street.

This is my back yard after three days of cleaning. In front, the dog's area is destroyed. Behind, neighbor's trees are still toppled.  Fortunately, Mom's house only had a few thousand $ worth of damage as opposed to having to be demolished.

My brother, Travis (in yellow), Scott (in a navy Worldcon shirt, Travis' friend and Travis' friend's Dad help take apart the uprooted tree that filled the backyard.  Buried 3 feet in the ground is a limb from this tree.

Mom's little shrine, and the tiny plants around it: Untouched by the storm.

 

On Wednesday, we had several tornadoes touch down around Massachusetts.  Now, MA is a small state, and I'm a pretty social gal, so there are few places where I don't know people.  Thing is, I was dead tired from Wiscon, so I slept in and didn't know what was going on for most of the day.

Here's what's so cool about living in the future:

My friend Renée, who lives in Connecticut, sent me a text asking if my mother was ok because she had seen on the news that a tornado touched down in Springfield (where my Mom lives.)

I called my mom and couldn't get ahold of her for a good 40 minutes, so I called my brother, Travis, who lives in New York City and asked if he got ahold of Mom.

Travis called his best friend, who lives four houses down from Mom, to go check on her.

Mom's landline came back, and I got ahold of her just as Travis' friend was calling him to assure him that Mom was ok.

After hearing how things were in my neighborhood (trees blown over & uprooted, a kitchen window cracked, garage windows broken, but nothing "major" per Mom), I sent a text to several of my other friends in the 413 area code.  One only had texting ability, so she got back to me quickly.  Another sent me a text a few hours later, and several others I saw on Facebook.

In the meantime, Phoebe, who lives out in Ayer, gave me a call because a tornado had touched down in Worcester, and Phoebe told me that Morven was bundled in the cellar with her laptop and kitty.

Morven had sent out emails to her friends and the various discussion lists we shared.  From there, I heard from several other people that they were doing ok.

So, in a matter of hours, I knew the people I loved were safe and mostly sound - even as the storms still raged around my house. 

A few months ago, my friend, Aimee Weinstein, who lives in Tokyo, was able to assure her friends and family of her safety per Facebook updates, even though phone calls and cellular signals were jammed after horrible earthquake.

While I still see - and will probably still find - things to complain about regarding technology and culture in current society, there's an awful lot to be thankful for.

xx

Let me end on a positive note.  On Sunday, Calico and I rode with our friends from Hillview Stables and Whip-O-Will Stables in the Ride for the Ribbon, raising money to help women fight breast cancer.  It was wonderful!  Thank you to everyone who supported us!

The Prancing for Pink Team: Beverly Darling on Elmo, Me on Calico, Kim Fontaine on Mac, and Amanda on Sugar.

Kim took a pic of me and Amanda starting the ride :)

'Cos who doesn't love Pink Ribbon Bums?

Remembering who I'm riding for. Love you, Mom!