Natural Selection

In Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen wrote,

"what are men to rocks and mountains".

But I remind you that wind and water carved the Grand Canyon.

Sunday afternoon when the hail started, I worried for my flowers. When the hail became golfball size, I worried for the cars parked on the street. When the hail bounced around at 3 inches in diameter, I worried for my roof. While I was watching the hail from my covered porch, my neighbor yelled over that he got a good shot of the tornado. Tornado? I quickly sent my children to the basement. I do not fear these elements, but I do respect them. Here is the shot my next door neighbor took from his front porch.

When it subsided our phone started ringing with friends concerned for our safety. They heard of our little neighborhood being in on the action. Though our home and street fared well, others in our neighborhood had some cleanup to do. Some of the action included a BBQ grill flying thru a Suburban, fences strewn about, trampolines in tangled messes 3 doors down from their home, broken windows, uprooted trees and downed light posts.


Check out the post sticking out of the house with its broken windows

Think what the damage would be if this was a trailer park.

But then it turned quickly to this...

neighbor helping neighbor. picking up debris.

piecing together fences. sweeping up glass.

friends hugging, relieved to see all was well enough.

The only injury we know of was a neighbor who got thrown by the wind while trying to photograph the tornado. The ambulance picked him up with his dislocated shoulder.

That, my friends, is natural selection.