At around 12:30 PM on Good Friday, April 10, 2009, the city of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, a college town of just over 100,000 southeast of Nashville, was hit with a devastating EF-3 tornado. Most severely affected were the middle-class neighborhoods of Blackman and Ravenwood, on the northwest side of the city. To put this in perspective of the proximity to my home, I live in the southern tip of Smyrna, just north of Murfreesboro; in fact, I often joke that I "live in Smyrna, but I can walk out the back door and take a p*** in Murfreesboro!" In other words, the path of this terrible storm was literally just a few short miles from my home.
More than 40 people were injured, and two were killed: Kori Bryant, a young mother in her 20's, and her nine-week old daughter Olivia were found a short distance from their Ravenwood home, apparently having tried to get to their car to escape the storm (Olivia's body was found strapped into her car seat). The father is critically injured in a local hospital with a broken back and most likely will never walk again. Dozens of others sustained minor injuries, and the last I heard, there were still 4-5 people listed in critical condition.
Over 100 homes were either destroyed or heavily damaged. One 1,800-square-foot house was lifted into the air and dropped directly on top of a neighboring home. A brand-new office building was destroyed and semi trailers were flipped on their tops and sides in the NW Broad / Thompson Lane area. Hundred-year-old oak trees were reduced to mere kindling. Cars were tossed about like Matchbox toys, and power poles were snapped like toothpicks. It was a scene of utter chaos seldom seen in this area, and nothing like Middle Tennessee has experienced since the Gallatin (north of Nashville) tornado of 2006.
The entire area was shaken to its core, and that includes those of us lucky enough to be located out of the direct path of the storm. This hit a little too close to home for all of us in Rutherford County, no matter what part of it in which we live. Just about anyone who is lucky enough to call this place home will tell you, these are some of the absolute finest people you will ever meet, anywhere, and Murfreesboro is one of the best towns of its size in America. Having gotten to know these people, driven these streets and called this area home for the past four years, the events of Good Friday 2009 will forever haunt me.
But there has been a positive side to this tragedy as well. It has been totally amazing to me how this community has pulled together in the midst of this disaster. As one would expect, many, many victims were interviewed in the aftermath of the storm by local Nashville news stations, and I do not recall once - not ONCE - anyone bemoaning the loss of their material belongings. What I heard was gratitude, and a feeling that they were extremely fortunate to have not lost their families' and friends' lives to the storm. From the stories I have heard, volunteers were in the areas almost immediately after the storm was over, helping the victims to salvage what they could from their demolished homes. Despite warnings from the Murfreesboro police to be wary of profiteers and looters, and to the general public to refrain from sightseeing, it has turned out that most of the traffic streaming into the Boro has not been crooks or rubbernecks; they are just people, trying to find a way to help out wherever they can, be it with debris removal, bringing food and water, or just running errands for the victims. It has just been an amazing thing to witness, and it has gone a very long way to restoring this cynic's faith in his fellow man.
I am so proud to be a part of this great community. The people of Rutherford County took me in as one of their own four years ago, and they have always made us feel right at home here. I can't say at this point that I will never leave, but I have absolutely no desire at this time to ever live anywhere else. This is one of the best places to live in America, period. And these people here, well...they are just amazing. And before I start blubbering like a little girl, I will just leave it at that!
Murfreesboro is already well on its way to recovery, but help is still needed. Please go to www.midtnredcross.org and make a donation to help our community. With the realization that times are tough for many right now, any donation - no matter how small - will help make a difference.
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