Fresh back from Tuscaloosa... all I can say is Holy Crap. My cousin's daughter got married Saturday night in B'ham. We drove up late Friday from Columbia and decided to jump over to T-Town Saturday morning to check out my Mom's childhood home and the overall damage. Driving up McFarland from the Interstate everything seems fine until you approach 15th. It was all I could do to keep from crying. All the pictures and videos in the world can't begin to explain the devastation. I literally missed the turn onto Eastwood Avenue (old stomping grounds) because all the usual landmarks were gone. Forest Lake area, all but leveled. Driving down Hackleberry Lane, devastating damage. Driving down 15th toward McFarland from Forest Lake is a mess. Cedar Crest basically does not exist anymore. The Wood Square shopping center is rubble. The World's Gym down 13th St E behind the shopping center was hit hard, in fact 13th St E from McFarland to Kicker Road is as bad as anywhere. And then when we left to go back to B'ham we went University Blvd thru Alberta City. Alberta City got hammered too. For those who have seen this 1st hand you may think this is old hat, but for those who used to live in Tuscaloosa or grew up visiting Tuscaloosa 3 to 4 times a year since childhood (like me) but have not actually been to see the damage, it is humbling.
If you are even within a couple of hours it's worth the drive just to see it. Cleanup will take years, lots of prayer needed as the number of homeless has to be staggering. I rode out Hugo in Columbia in 1989 and I went and surveyed damage in Charleston and Georgetown and Myrtle Beach. This is just like the very worst hit areas from Hugo, if not worse, and Hugo was a huge 400 mile wide Cat 4 storm.
Sobering moment was when we were in line at Best Buy on McFarland to buy a camera (ours died), an employee was on the phone next to us and we overheard him saying, "I lost a family member and my house is gone, but overall I'm doing okay."
On the bright side, it seemed that about every 3rd or 4th damaged house that was still standing had some kind of Bamaesque message such as "Roll Tide, we will be back". I hope Saban and the players realize (and all indications are they do) that this town will need to rally round the football team come next fall.
Just wanted to share with some people I knew would understand.
If you are even within a couple of hours it's worth the drive just to see it. Cleanup will take years, lots of prayer needed as the number of homeless has to be staggering. I rode out Hugo in Columbia in 1989 and I went and surveyed damage in Charleston and Georgetown and Myrtle Beach. This is just like the very worst hit areas from Hugo, if not worse, and Hugo was a huge 400 mile wide Cat 4 storm.
Sobering moment was when we were in line at Best Buy on McFarland to buy a camera (ours died), an employee was on the phone next to us and we overheard him saying, "I lost a family member and my house is gone, but overall I'm doing okay."
On the bright side, it seemed that about every 3rd or 4th damaged house that was still standing had some kind of Bamaesque message such as "Roll Tide, we will be back". I hope Saban and the players realize (and all indications are they do) that this town will need to rally round the football team come next fall.
Just wanted to share with some people I knew would understand.
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