{"id":3894,"date":"2021-06-10T17:22:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T17:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/?p=3894"},"modified":"2023-09-22T19:51:27","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T19:51:27","slug":"something-that-cant-be-forgotten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2021\/06\/10\/something-that-cant-be-forgotten\/","title":{"rendered":"Something That Can\u2019t Be Forgotten"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A decade after the April 27, 2011, tornado, its scars still rest with those who experienced it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Tuscaloosa after the 2011 tornado that killed 53 people and injured more than 1,500 across the city in its wake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This article first appeared in Alabama Alumni Magazine in the Spring, 2021 issue<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox was in the gym at Hillcrest High School coaching his stepson Trey\u2019s basketball team on Dec. 16, 2000. The opposing coach was Alabama\u2019s current secretary of state and University of Alabama graduate, John Merrill, \u201990. The two coaches stepped outside to get some air while another parent tagged along to smoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then they saw it: A titan, debris-filled, thunderous tornado hit the nearby Winn-Dixie, destroying it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They ran back inside and quickly moved the children to a hallway. Maddox draped his body over Trey\u2019s and together they recited the Affirmation of Faith. He quickly flashed back to one of his earliest memories\u2014watching his dad try to find a radio station in a crawl space where he survived a tornado that hit another Tuscaloosa neighborhood, Springbrook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maddox was certain that the monster storm he witnessed at Hillcrest was headed straight for them. It missed the school, but it did kill 12 people in Tuscaloosa that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was that experience that shaped him and prepared him to lead the city through a larger, even more deadly tornado later. \u201cIt helped me understand fear,\u201d Maddox said recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been 10 years this spring since the April 27, 2011, tornado scarred and ravaged Tuscaloosa, killing 53 people and injuring more than 1,500 across the city in its wake. It changed the landscape as well as those who call Tuscaloosa home. Yet the violent, long-track EF-4 tornado, which was over a mile wide, casts a long shadow, even today. Those affected, which included many UA alumni, faculty and staff, walk the fine line between never wanting to forget, and absolutely wanting to forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who lived through it may suffer from PTSD, are averse to bad weather, or are unable to smell natural gas or burning pine needles for the memories that come with them\u2014both saturated the air afterward. Many recalled not knowing where they were just after it hit, even when standing on their own streets. As UA Professor Rick Bragg wrote soon after, the storm even affected \u201cperhaps forever, how we look at the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a decade since President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited the aftermath. That day, Michelle\u2019s cream-colored top became marred with a dirty, sap-filled tornado paste, from hugging distraught Tuscaloosans who had lost everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashley Mims\u2019 daughter, UA student Loryn Brown, was killed in the tornado. At home with roommate Danielle Downs, also a UA student, and another friend, Will Stephens, a Stillman student, the house took a direct hit. No one survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe students that are there now may not remember, but they can\u2019t forget 2011,\u201d Mims said. \u201cThey can\u2019t be caught off guard. They have to be prepared.\u201d James Fowler, \u201911,<\/strong> the outgoing SGA president at the time, and his wife Meg McCrummen Fowler, \u201911,<\/strong> served on the UA SGA in 2011. \u201cFor those of us who were in Tuscaloosa at the time, it\u2019s something we will carry with us the rest of our lives,\u201d Fowler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
James Fowler, \u201911, the outgoing SGA president at the time, and his wife Meg McCrummen Fowler, \u201911.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Comeback of champions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the immediate hours of shock after the tornado hit, the University pledged its resources, logistical support and planning. As the city of Tuscaloosa healed and moved on, so did the University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuscaloosa built back with the thought that any day, another tornado could ravage the city. It\u2019s hard to describe to hose who weren\u2019t there, in any words or in any language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chelsea Thrash Blevins, \u201913,<\/strong> a UA student at the time, remembers that when she regained consciousness immediately after the storm, her back was broken and she could not feel her legs. Then she screamed for help. Her spine had been pushed to one side, twisted, like everything the tornado left in its wake. Walking, or any sense of normal, was a faraway memory. She had been thrown from her Charleston Square apartment into a field and landed on debris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Blevins will celebrate her five-year wedding anniversary, a milestone many of her friends and family did not think she would ever see. Not only did she walk again, she no longer needs help from a walker or cane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In doing so, she honored the memory of her late sorority sister, Melanie \u201cNicole\u201d Mixon, who was only two doors down from Thrash when the storm hit. Nicole, the girl who loved her two guinea pigs, named Todd and Copper after characters from her favorite Disney movie \u201cThe Fox and the Hound,\u201d would have attended Blevins\u2019 wedding, had she lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blevins now has no physical pain and cannot recall when she last used her cane\u2014she thinks it\u2019s been years\u2014but she keeps it in the car \u201cjust in case\u201d because it brings her comfort. The last time she visited Tuscaloosa was 2015. \u201cI haven\u2019t been avoiding Tuscaloosa, but I haven\u2019t gone back in a while,\u201d she said. \u201cI think maybe portions of the city would be hard to visit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maddox recalled a ceremony at Foster Auditorium a few months after the tornado. \u201cI spoke to the parents (of students who died), and it was the worst feeling of inadequacy, because you knew anything that you said, could not even begin to repair the loss that they had in their lives,\u201d Maddox said, adding that the experience made him a better parent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His son, Eli, 7, was not yet born when the mayor left City Hall on April 27, 2011, and drove, accompanied by Sgt. Chad Palmer and Heather Gray, his administrative assistant, straight down University Boulevard to Alberta. \u201cThat\u2019s when I began to see people bleeding, walking toward me,\u201d Maddox said. \u201cIt knocked me to my knees. I\u2019ve never seen damage like that. You wish you could bring up that moment when you first saw the destruction and just how overwhelming it was and just how overwhelming it is still, in my mind. But for many in our community there\u2019s no way they can understand unless they lived it, and that\u2019s just part of the human experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Tuscaloosa and the University, the greatest threat now is the passage of time, and collective hazy memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think (Eli) has a higher acumen for the threat of severe weather because I\u2019m usually gone or there\u2019s talk of it but, April 27, 2011, has no meaning in his life,\u201d Maddox said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the things we will all have to work very hard is not only not to forget\u2014and to remember what happened\u2014but also be prepared for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fowler said the anniversary is a time to remember the UA students who died that day. He named each one of them, with a long pause to choke back emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTen years in, we haven\u2019t forgotten them,\u201d he said. \u201cWe remember them and honor their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Tuscaloosa City Council President Harrison Taylor, who helped work with UA in the early days, worked tirelessly in the aftermath of the crisis, one reason the city of Tuscaloosa renamed its command center after him. He first knew about the tornado when he heard a neighbor screaming. \u201cThere was a lawn mower and all kinds of debris in the air,\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt looked like (the tornado) had eyes because it got to 15th Street and it turned. Then we all thought it was going to hit the hospital, but it turned. To be honest with you, I thought we would never come back,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Tuscaloosa did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A community unites and transforms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city and UA community have rebuilt and transformed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UA Acts of Kindness Fund, born out of need after the tornado, has raised more than $2.74 million to date. Almost every college on campus has contributed to recovery efforts over the years in some way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think from the city standpoint, I think we\u2019re done,\u201d Maddox said on the recovery. \u201cWe\u2019ve done about all we can do from an investment standpoint, whether that\u2019s transportation infrastructure or economic development. What we have to be careful of is that in the 12.5% of the city that was destroyed that day, it may never reach a point where recovery is achieved. I\u2019ve always, in the past 10 years, been very reluctant to use the words fully recovered because, if your house is destroyed, your business was damaged or you\u2019ve lost a loved one, is there ever really a point of recovery?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no real common thread among people who were at the University in 2011. Each person has their own story to tell. Yet in each story, community spirit shines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twelve percent of Tuscaloosa was destroyed that day. Even though the city lost 85% of its heavy equipment, 17% of police assets, a fire station and four other city facilities, it continued to provide services to almost 90% of the city following the tornado, and never borrowed money or raised taxes. It never missed a payroll, never missed paying bills, and the city continued to function. The UA campus\u2014which narrowly avoided damage\u2014was able to help the city move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStrangers and people who didn\u2019t know each other are now connected,\u201d Fowler said, as he recalled feeding relief workers and community members through the Greek Relief program, a recovery effort that not only prepared more than 52,000 hot meals in the aftermath of the storm, but also raised more than $220,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo see the students of different ages, backgrounds, different places in life all come together \u2026 it changed the way you look at community, both the Tuscaloosa community and the University community. The memories are of those students (who died) but also the experience of coming together afterward and uniting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blevins agreed, recalling the \u201ccompletely random community of people coming together,\u201d including two strangers, Susan <\/strong>and Derek DeBriun,<\/strong> who both graduated from UA in 2011 with master\u2019s degrees. They were newlyweds, they quickly grabbed supplies on hand\u2014including new towels that were wedding gifts\u2014and ran outside to help. Blevins also recalled a man in a white pickup truck who took her to Mayer Electric Supply, which became a triage center after the tornado. She never saw him again. She ultimately made it to DCH, where she was taken by ambulance to UAB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
University of Alabama Journalism and Creative Media Senior Instructor Andy Grace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

University of Alabama Journalism and Creative Media Senior Instructor Andy Grace, \u201901,<\/strong> and his wife, Rashmi, were at home in the Forest Lake neighborhood, which took a direct hit from the tornado. Like Maddox, it was the second deadly tornado Grace. He ultimately created a project called \u201cAfter The Storm,\u201d an interactive documentary, nominated for a 2015 Emmy Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and Rashmi were involved in the Tuscaloosa Forward initiative, a collaboration by citizens and the city of Tuscaloosa to guide recovery after the tornado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone in the city believed we were on the precipice of enacting some meaningful change,\u201d Grace said, lamenting that many long-term plans he wished for did not happen. \u201cAll of these things felt incredibly exciting to me. Watching this incredible moment of democracy was so inspiring and so exciting. To hear people give visions of what they wanted in their community. I think of the positivity that came after.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alumni who graduated and moved on all mentioned the tug of what was, for many, a temporary home, and how they were reluctant to leave because of the bonds formed after the tornado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grace summed it up: If there was a tornado every day, our sense of community would continue to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf every moment were this tragedy, we would all only be kind to one another,\u201d he said. \u201cWe would all only be generous. We would all only seek justice. We would all only be connected to one another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuscaloosa forward, with new perspective.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many tornado survivors, Blevins no longer sweats the small stuff. \u201cI kind of tend to over-catastrophize things,\u201d she said, but added that the tornado has helped her to step back, take a breath and realize that small problems are just that\u2014small. \u201cThings could be so much worse. Having gone through losing everything and being hurt the way I was, I try to reflect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Blevins, the transformation has been physical and mental. There are still spots on the left side of her body where she has no feeling. She can\u2019t run, climb stairs or play volleyball anymore. She struggles to keep up with the walking pace of most people. She gets stares when she uses handicapped parking because her injuries are not obvious. \u201cWhen I was relearning to walk, I never quite got everything back,\u201d she said. \u201cI just had to learn to do things differently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mims recently sent daughter Anna off to Auburn University. Her other daughter, Holly\u2014who was 10 at the time of the tornado\u2014arrived at UA in fall 2020 as a sophomore. Mims said the choice to send Holly to UA was one of the hardest things she has done, since Tuscaloosa is where Loryn died in the storm. She makes sure both Anna and Holly have helmets at home, and a severe weather plan, something she hopes more students and parents will make a priority. \u201cShe\u2019s doing what Loryn couldn\u2019t do,\u201d Mims said. \u201cShe\u2019s continuing Loryn\u2019s legacy but also creating her own. I could not let my fear squash her hopes and dreams and aspirations and cancel that out for her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mims said the tornado transformed the way she looks at everything, and forces her to find the good in each situation. \u201cI may not talk about Loryn every day to people because they don\u2019t ask, but she\u2019s on my mind every day,\u201d Mims said. \u201cI miss her more every day. I used to keep up with how many days it had been, then how many months it had been, and now how many years it\u2019s been. When we get to April 27 this year, it will be over 3,600 days that she\u2019s been gone. I have felt every one of those days with every fiber of my body and to the depths of my soul. I miss my child. You don\u2019t get over it. You don\u2019t move on. You don\u2019t forget. But your coping skills get stronger. You always carry this weight. But you built up these muscles to help you carry this weight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Maddox, the tornado prepared him to manage the current COVID-19 crisis, yet he marks the tornado as the most important moment of his time serving the city. \u201cIt never leaves me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly the most seminal moment from my entire time in the city, and I cannot imagine anything ever surpassing that. I don\u2019t ever want to grow cold, or sterile, to those emotional moments. That should drive you. I think about that all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Taylor, who once thought Tuscaloosa might never make a comeback, moving ahead is the only choice. \u201cI don\u2019t look back,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward. My city has come a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meredith Cummings, \u201994, MA \u201996, is a senior instructor in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media at The University of Alabama. In 2011, both she and Alabama Alumni Magazine Editor Lydia Seabol Avant lived in a neighborhood that was hard hit by that EF-4 tornado.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A decade after the April 27, 2011, tornado, its scars still rest with those who experienced it. This article first appeared in Alabama Alumni Magazine in the Spring, 2021 issue Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox was in the gym at Hillcrest High School coaching his stepson Trey\u2019s basketball team on Dec. 16, 2000. The opposing coach…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[214],"tags":[263],"class_list":["post-3894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-features","tag-alabama-alumni-magazine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSomething That Can\u2019t Be Forgotten » Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Something That Can\u2019t Be Forgotten » Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A decade after the April 27, 2011, tornado, its scars still rest with those who experienced it. 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