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Friday, March 6, 2020

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Tennessee Is Amazing!


Hi, all!

Well, it's been quite a week here in Tennessee, but Friday is finally here, and that means it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Are you ready?  Let's get started!

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Historic church in Nashville

I'm sure many of you have heard about the tornado that ripped through middle Tennessee Monday night - I know this because many of you have emailed me to see if I am ok!  (And that is definitely whoop-worthy - thank you so much to everyone who checked in on me!)

The building is gone, but the sign and the spirit remains

Tuesday morning I woke up at the butt-crack of dawn, as usual, and checked my email while drinking a cup of coffee.  Then over to Instagram, and there was a message from Janice Grimes of Quilts of Compassion, asking if we were ok after the storms the night before.  Storms?  What storms?  I turned on the local news and was shocked to see that a tornado had passed through Nashville, Mt. Juliet (my previous hometown), Lebanon, and Cookeville.  

East Nashville houses after the storm

Our old house is about ten minutes south of I-40, which was fortunate for us - the tornado tracked just north of I-40 for what we now know was more than 50 miles on the ground, touching down just west of Nashville and continuing all the way to Cookeville, TN.  

West Wilson Middle School in Mt. Juliet

However, just about ten minutes north of I-40, the tornado wreaked havoc.  This picture is of the middle school, and we are told that they probably will not be able to resume classes there this school year.  Next door to it is a Christian school and Baptist church, which also sustained significant damage.  My eye doctor's office right across the street was seriously damaged, too.

Houses in Mt. Juliet, TN
So many of our friends sustained damage to their homes, but fortunately no one that we knew was hurt badly.  


Cookeville wasn't as lucky - the storm totally wiped out whole neighborhoods, and most of the storm-related deaths happened there.

But I'll tell you the wonderful thing about Tennessee - and I saw a Facebook post this week that stated it perfectly.  It said...

If you've only recently moved to Tennessee, hold on.
You're about to see why it's called the Volunteer State.


People were out right after the storm to help their neighbors.  Go Fund Me accounts were set up.  Churches were mobilizing.  Anyone who had a chainsaw and a pickup truck was looking for a tree to cut up.


This is the heart of Tennessee - when people are in trouble, everyone wants to help.  I've never lived anywhere quite like it.  They actually had so many volunteers in Mt. Juliet the police department said that they couldn't handle any more right now!


And despite the storm and the damage and all the roads closed and buildings damaged, people still stood in line for hours in order to exercise their right to vote on Super Tuesday!  They actually kept the polls open until 8, and extended hours at the polls in the most-affected areas until 10 to give people the chance to vote.  


And I think all of that is worth a whoop whoop, don't you?

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And now it's your turn!

What's making you whoop it up this week?


What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

27 comments:

  1. The tornado did so much damage, and in places, selected only one side of a street. I had hoped all my blog or internet friend were safe, and at times like this, true generosity and help comes out to the front.

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  2. Tears came to my eyes, reading this. Such devastation, but to read how so many volunteers showed up, that the police had to turn some away, is just heart melting. Praying for all that have had losses. Thankful you and yours are safe, Sarah!

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  3. We came thru there yesterday. It was a horrible sight.
    Thankful your family is good.

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  4. That is just devastating. Hubby's family is from Cookeville and we haven't heard how they are doing. It is wonderful how people pull together after a crisis. I'm glad you are okay.

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  5. I had not seen a lot of photos until I read your post. I had heard a lot about it though. I am glad you are safe. I am very happy to see that volunteers turned out in great numbers.

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  6. glad you and yours are ok and it wasn't where you know are. It was horrible seeing it on tv can't imagine it in person.

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  7. So devastating but happy you are not touched by it.

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  8. So happy that you were out of harms reach Sarah. It was heartbreaking to hear about all of the damage that the tornado did.

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  9. I am so glad you are safe. I love how communities come together - just wish it wasn't always because of a tragedy. People really are the best.

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  10. It was so devastating to see the damage and destruction. I am not surprised at how Nashville came together to help. It hit ten miles north of us, and I had no idea until the next morning what happened. Scary and mind blowing in so many ways.

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  11. That is so scary, Sarah! The heart of people stepping up to help is beautiful, though.

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  12. Oh my, scary weather, hopefully you are ok, and your friends too

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  13. That's scary, glad you and yours are ok.

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  14. I'm not sure I realized you lived in TN, so glad you are OK!!

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  15. So glad you & your family are safe...the devastation is just heart breaking. It will take time for all to get back on their feet, nice to see so many volunteering :-)

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  16. Oh my goodness...so glad that you are okay.

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  17. I too, am glad you and your family are fine! I have trouble remembering where all the bloggers I read, live. I’m thinking I need a pin map in my sewing room!
    Tornados are scary, not usual here in NE Wyoming, but we have had some. It’s wonderful when communities come together.

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  18. I'm glad your family is all safe, but like you, I didn't know until the next day. Our son hunkered down in his bathroom, and the downtown area was completely missed, thankfully. How heart-warming to know the outpouring of love and compassion in your neighbors, Sarah, and let's hope the families in grief find solace in that too.

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  19. The worst of times brings out the best in people. This is what give me hope and strength! Perhaps a TN recovery group will be one of the H2H charities? If you hear of one that takes quilts, please let us know!

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  20. Makes me weep. Both for the damage and destruction wreaked upon the communities but also for the beautiful heart of those who come out to volunteer. The best and the worst together.... Give yourself and your whole Tennessee community a GIGANTIC HUG from me in Missouri. What heart!!!

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  21. So glad that you are ok. What horrific pictures of the destruction. Prayers to all in Nashville that have been affected by the storms.

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  22. How sad and yet truly heart warming that people care so much.

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  23. Yes, your post definitely requires a Whoop Whoop for all the generous volunteers willing to lend a hand when desperately needed. The sweep of that tornado was simply amazing, and across the country, we are saddened for those that lost their lives, their homes and their livelihood. Stay strong!

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  24. Glad you're okay. A coworker's sister lives in the area survived well, although the neighborhood got hit hard. What a mess!

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  25. That's definitely worth a whoop, and more. Our church was all set to go to Cookeville and help with chainsaws and muscle, because Cookeville sent 100 volunteers last year in our floods. But ... we were told to wait a week, and that the chainsaws probably wouldn't be needed, just the muscle. So we're waiting. =) This is exactly what I saw in the fires in Gatlinburg ... people waiting to go help! Thanks for telling about the polls, because I wondered about that. That was one amazing long stretch of damage. I saw the footage of Channel 5 when it went through their parking lot - I've never seen such a wide tornado, and I'd never seen all the electrical explosions before, either ... because I never saw one in a city, I guess. I'm grateful you moved, and grateful I live where I do in E. TN. I'm surprised your phone didn't wake you. Mine did, even turned off, at 4:40 am with a 20 minute tornado alert, but we got a little wind and a lot of rain, and that was it. I watched a lot of the news footage on YouTube, and it was incredible!

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  26. So glad you are safe and are proud to live in such a great area of caring volunteers! Great.

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  27. Glad you are safe. We have a nephew and his family in Mt Juliet. He used to teach at one of the schools there. It's great to live amongst caring folks who come together when tragedy strikes.

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