Sallly

Two weeks ago, we didn’t know where Hurricane Sally would land. There were no predictions of toppled trees in Bienville Square or an almost complete power outage in Baldwin County. Unexpected strength in an unexpected location, Sally took us by surprise.

Two weeks ago, we didn’t know where Hurricane Sally would land. There were no predictions of toppled trees in Bienville Square or an almost complete power outage in Baldwin County. Unexpected strength in an unexpected location, Sally took us by surprise.

Before life returns to normal, we need to remember what Sally was.

It was waking up Tuesday morning to pine trees across roads and power lines. Or oak trees across driveways, on tops of houses or through bedrooms.

It was neighbors with chainsaws in the streets before the wind and rain ended. Cutting a path through tunnels of trees wide enough for a single car to get through. They became piles of chopped-up trees stretching for miles along every road.

It was Fish River close to the level of the flood of 2014, and a son bringing in a boat to get his parents out. It was shoveling out the mud that the river left behind.

It was couples looking at trees through their home and wondering what to do next. Wishing they had cut the tree down before Sally, and sad that tree was gone.

It was pecan trees blown down in the weeks before one of the best harvests in years. Almost half of the trees were destroyed at Greci Orchard where George Greci planted most of the trees after he returned from World War 2. He prayed over each acre of the farm.

It was power crews from the Shenandoah Valley, Prentiss, Mississippi, and Owenton,Kentucky replacing split poles and transformers. Or rewiring. All doing three days of work in 15-hour days. It was local linemen leaving the damage at their own homes to bring power back.

It was the owners of The Blue Plate in Tuscaloosa and Dothan who came to check on their camper and boat on Ft. Morgan, then returning the next day with a trailer and grill. They gave out hamburgers and hotdogs because after the Tuscaloosa tornado, the knew what it was like to receive help and “you have to give help when you can.”

It was Mandy, who left her flooded, damaged home each day to sell generators at Ace Hardware, because she didn't want someone else to have to cover her shift.

It was old men, 80 to 90 years old, working on each other's roofs at Plantation RV Park. "There were no injuries during the hurricane, but something could happen during the recovery.”

It was the constant hum of chainsaws during the day and generators at night.

It was too many references to "Ride, Sally, Ride."

It was the service organizations, churches and families providing hot meals.

It was Corey Martin and Sherry-Lea Botop making sure power returned to the extraterritorial jurisdiction outside of the Fairhope city limits. It was Baldwin EMA bunkered in for weeks to guide a county through disaster.

It was the Chieaniec family finding their ministry as they delivered supplies and meals to neighborhoods most people don’t know exist.

It was neighbors with lights and hot water offering showers, meals and a washing machine to others still in the dark.

It was the parade through Fairhope thanking the linemen with signs that said. "We needed your help" and "Great Job Button" for the lineman from Huntsville who went up his first pole this week. The neighbors said he was "as cute as a button."

It was a gas station in Marlow with blown-out pumps and a flooded store giving away everything it had. Then becoming the community center where food and supplies were given out each day.

It was worries about insulin that needed refrigeration and a husband with COPD.

It was friends and family driving in supplies from out of town.

It was two families that started cooking hotdogs because they had an icemaker and were the among the first to get power. Serving lunch grew into serving more meals, cleaning yards, and washing laundry.

It was teenagers holding a sign that said: "Buy a Cup and Help Save Homes" as they sold lemonade. Down the street, a sign next to a faucet and hose read: “Free Water."

It was families already struggling from lost income from the Coronavirus unsure of how to repair homes and cars with money they don't have.

It was families living in cars because they have nowhere else to go.

It was schools adjusting to crisis one more time in 2020.

It was people saying “I didn’t think it would be this bad”, “I don't know how I made it out alive" and "It could have been worse."

It was people without power or trees in their yards volunteering to serve meals or to help someone else worse off than them.

It was neighbors pulling together after months of social distancing pulled them apart.

It was connection and community that we needed to feel again.

It was waking up Tuesday morning to pine trees across roads and power lines. Or oak trees across driveways, on tops of houses or through bedrooms.

It was neighbors with chainsaws in the streets before the wind and rain ended. Cutting a path through tunnels of trees wide enough for a single car to get through. They became piles of chopped-up trees stretching for miles along every road.

It was Fish River close to the level of the flood of 2014, and a son bringing in a boat to get his parents out. It was shoveling out the mud that the river left behind.

It was couples looking at trees through their home and wondering what to do next. Wishing they had cut the tree down before Sally, and sad that tree was gone.

It was pecan trees blown down in the weeks before one of the best harvests in years. Almost half of the trees were destroyed at Greci Orchard where George Greci planted most of the trees after he returned from World War 2. He prayed over each acre of the farm.

It was power crews from the Shenandoah Valley, Prentiss, Mississippi, and Owenton,Kentucky replacing split poles and transformers. Or rewiring. All doing three days of work in 15-hour days. It was local linemen leaving the damage at their own homes to bring power back.

It was the owners of The Blue Plate in Tuscaloosa and Dothan who came to check on their camper and boat on Ft. Morgan, then returning the next day with a trailer and grill. They gave out hamburgers and hotdogs because after the Tuscaloosa tornado, the knew what it was like to receive help and “you have to give help when you can.”

It was Mandy, who left her flooded, damaged home each day to sell generators at Ace Hardware, because she didn't want someone else to have to cover her shift.

It was old men, 80 to 90 years old, working on each other's roofs at Plantation RV Park. "There were no injuries during the hurricane, but something could happen during the recovery.”

It was the constant hum of chainsaws during the day and generators at night.

It was too many references to "Ride, Sally, Ride."

It was the service organizations, churches and families providing hot meals.

It was Corey Martin and Sherry-Lea Botop making sure power returned to the extraterritorial jurisdiction outside of the Fairhope city limits. It was Baldwin EMA bunkered in for weeks to guide a county through disaster.

It was the Chieaniec family finding their ministry as they delivered supplies and meals to neighborhoods most people don’t know exist.

It was neighbors with lights and hot water offering showers, meals and a washing machine to others still in the dark.

It was the parade through Fairhope thanking the linemen with signs that said. "We needed your help" and "Great Job Button" for the lineman from Huntsville who went up his first pole this week. The neighbors said he was "as cute as a button."

It was a gas station in Marlow with blown-out pumps and a flooded store giving away everything it had. Then becoming the community center where food and supplies were given out each day.

It was worries about insulin that needed refrigeration and a husband with COPD.

It was friends and family driving in supplies from out of town.

It was two families that started cooking hotdogs because they had an icemaker and were the among the first to get power. Serving lunch grew into serving more meals, cleaning yards, and washing laundry.

It was teenagers holding a sign that said: "Buy a Cup and Help Save Homes" as they sold lemonade. Down the street, a sign next to a faucet and hose read: “Free Water."

It was families already struggling from lost income from the Coronavirus unsure of how to repair homes and cars with money they don't have.

It was families living in cars because they have nowhere else to go.

It was schools adjusting to crisis one more time in 2020.

It was people saying “I didn’t think it would be this bad”, “I don't know how I made it out alive" and "It could have been worse."

It was people without power or trees in their yards volunteering to serve meals or to help someone else worse off than them.

It was neighbors pulling together after months of social distancing pulled them apart.

It was connection and community that we needed to feel again.