Anniversary

Hard to believe it's been nearly two years since I've written a post here.  It hasn't been from lack of Deltaville fodder, just a lack of time for sitting and writing.  But today I wanted to take a moment to celebrate an anniversary.

Ten years ago tonight, an F2 tornado touched down in Deltaville from Porpoise Cove Rd across Rt.33 down Jackson Farm Lane and across our little Jackson Acres community.  And I bet now you're questioning my choice of "celebrate".  Despite all the destruction the storm left in its path, not one person in Deltaville died. Not one person was missing. Not one person received an injury more severe than scrapes and scratches.  The same goes for pets. 

And in the days and weeks following the storm, the community came together. Those who were unaffected showed up and offered aid to those who were affected. Neighbors helped neighbors, people in nearby communities offered help to Deltaville.  

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is something to celebrate.

We've all had a doozy of a year.  

Between riots, injustices, politics and pandemics, it seems like people are quicker to point a finger than to offer a hand these days.  Despite that, I'm confident that when the chips are down, your neighbors (whether actual physical neighbors or not) will have your back.  

So instead of mourning the loss of property and the landscape, I'm going to choose to celebrate the miracles that happened 10 years ago.

God Bless Deltaville.

Here are the original posts about the tornado:

This is Not a Test
Miracle Monday
The Bright Side
Our House Not So Very Fine
Good Friday

Three Years

Today marks 3 years since the tornado went through Deltaville. 

 A boat in the middle of a field

 Telephone pole sheared off at the bottom

 This pine tree was literally twisted by the twister

 The tennis courts

 My dad demonstrating just how large that root ball is

The area where our shed used to be.

No, the tornado didn't dump junk in the yard, 

that was in the shed.

Note the neighbor's vehicle with the large hole in the windshield

I believe that was from our paddle boat being thrown into it.

 Zoar Baptist Church with a large bite out of the middle

 A house that was tossed into the creek

 Removing the large oak trees off of our house

 House behind us

the pool

There was a lot of destruction, but there was no loss of life.

No one was even injured-

not even the various pets that were sucked out of homes 

or buried under debris.

Things changed though, and that's the hardest to deal with (for me).

I'd rather Deltaville stay the same as it was in the late 70's and 80's.

Instead it just seems to keep changing and growing and 

getting too big for the britches I'd prefer it wear.

A "funny" coincidence- delta Δ  is the mathematical symbol for change.

You can read about the tornado on these posts:

This is Not a Test!

Miracle Monday

The Bright Side

Our House- Not So Very Fine

The More Things Change

Miracle Monday- Rita

Before and After

Remnants

Remnants 2

The First Deltaville Tornado

Progress

 I'm happy to announce that (with the exception of some trim work)
the house is finally done being repaired after the tornado damage
(feast your eyes on the new flooring).

 

And the neighbor's house is underway as well.

And our new deck chairs in bright colors

(Dad not so thrilled about the colors).

Progress?

We have a roof.

We have new flooring on the way.

We don't have a ceiling in the master bedroom yet,

though the contractor should be taking care of that shortly.

There are still some unsightly dead trees around. 

Makes me want to buy a chainsaw and learn how to use it.

Insurance doesn't always provide money to remove destroyed trees.

(These aren't our trees, just dead ones that make it look painful still)

At night the air is heavy with wood smoke.

There used to be a house here.

There used to be 3 houses, a shed and a carport between the house on the left

 and the pile of rubbish in the foreground.

Two of the three have new foundations.

The new view looking out to the river Rivah.

Dueling dozers.

The area on the far shore is where the Hurd's house used to be.

This building is a garage. 

Yeah, I thought it was a house at first too.

And that upside down flag is a sign of distress if my memory of maritime flag symbols serves me. 

And yes, I'd say it's still a bit distressing in Jackson Acres.



Before and After



Before- about 3 years ago

After- May 6, 2011



Before- Labor Day Weekend 2010



After- May 6, 2011



 Before About 3 years ago (look at shoreline)

 

After- May 6, 2011



Before- Labor Day Weekend 2010

After- May 6, 2011

Our House- Not So Very Very Fine

Our place is the house under the trees just to the left of the boat

(the boat is the neighbor's and another piece of the boat was found a little further up the road).

The front of the house.

Side of the house where the majority of the damage was located.

The back of the house.

The new skylight in the master bedroom.

Removing the trees.

Tarping the roof.

Our new landscaping.

The final decision regarding the house is that is it fine and needs a new roof.  The decks will be repaired, the debris removed, we get new carpeting and vinyl flooring (which we needed prior to the tornado), a new grill, new bedroom set, new shed... on and on. 

We were lucky and fared better than some of our neighbors:

That's a house in the creek

Thanks to everyone for their prayers, thoughts and kind words.