Where my mind's at

From the basement, when the tornado was between Tuscaloosa and B'ham.

Our power was restored a few hours ago.  We are so touched by the number of out-of-town family members and friends who have called and sent messages over the past few days to check on us.  

There were anxious moments Wednesday evening as they tried to track the tornado out of Tuscaloosa and project its path.  After a little while, the weathermen ran out of superlatives and started repeating themselves and sounding generally helpless and frazzled.  The eeriest part for me was when I noticed the songbirds coming down out of the trees and flying low along the ground.  

But the monster went 10 miles northwest of all of us comparatively rich folks who were hiding in our finished basements and instead hit a lot of people who had nowhere to hide.  

Yeah I was scared, and I still feel all out of sorts, but mostly I just feel guilty for feeling out of sorts when the worst I have to report is that four trees fell in the woods in our backyard.  We won't even have to have them cut up; they'll just add to the wilderness ambiance we already had going out there.

There is urgent need for water and blood, and plenty of organizations are registering volunteers, so it seems the best way to quiet my mind is to get the rest of me moving.