I was almost 4 years old when Hurricane Fredrick hit in 1979. The storm is my first memory. It was dark and loud, and I remember the way the air felt heavy and the clouds looked angry. The wind hit our house with so much force that the house, a brick home build on concrete blocks, began to rock back and forth. My mother gathered us into her arms and held us in her lap. We all sat on a mattress pulled from my sister's bed into the hallway, the only area in the house without windows. Mama held us tightly and sang Jesus Loves Me, the trees outside beating a rhythm against the house that didn't match the song. My dad paced the house with a lantern - the power had already gone out. He opened all the doors slowly, looking into the rooms. I later learned that he was checking the windows to make sure they hadn't broken. When the wind calmed, we ran outside to see, but daddy warned us that we were seeing the eye of the storm and that the worst was still to come. I remember being fascinated by the concept of the eye, and wondered if the storm could see us, if it knew we were down there, if it knew that we had nowhere else to go. We could hear the cows in the pasture. They sounded afraid, but we didn't dare try to put them in the barn, for fear that the barn would collapse and kill all of them. Daddy said they stood a better chance out in the open, that they would find a low place and weather the storm like all the other animals do. And in fact, they did weather the storm just fine - better than the barn did, anyway. We went back inside before the rest of the storm came, and when it hit it was worse than before. We could hear trees snapping, and there was a crash that sounded louder than anything I had ever heard. When the storm finally passed, we opened the front door to see the damage. Pine trees were lying all around the house, but none were on it. We had survived the storm with no damage to our home. The barn did collapse. That was the crash we heard.
We checked with the neighbors - some of them didn't do as well as we did. A tree fell on one home. Someone lost a pet. A child was injured. Power was out all over the region. As a fairly self-sustaining farm, we had it better than others. A generator hooked to our well meant we had water. A gas stove meant we could cook. We opened our home to neighbors to allow them a shower and some food. They were grateful. For three weeks, nobody had power or water. We all took care of each other during that time, and I made a lot of new friends.
What I learned from my parents during that time were lessons I will always remember. I am grateful for them. During that time, I learned that it is possible to be calm in the face of a storm. I learned that faith can sustain a person through difficult times. I learned that it's important to keep an eye on weak places because they might break and ruin everything. I learned that sharing with others and showing compassion for those who have nothing are extremely important parts of being human. I try to show compassion every day because that is the example they set.
That was very beautifully written!!!
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