Leadership and...
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Leadership and...
Leadership and Leadership Conferences
I just returned from the 2012 American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) conference in Denver. While this conference is designed for "trainers and training managers", I am always surprised with how many sessions are on leadership...
Listed below are a sample of sessions that were offered...
- Empowering a New Generation of Leaders: Ten Things They Must Know
- Courageous Leadership: Using Courage to Transform the Workplace
- Do Leaders Need to Make Employees Happy?
- Tomorrow's Successful Leaders
- The Neuroscience of Leadership: Understanding the Brain to Create Better Leaders
- Aim High: Learn how the Air Force Develops Civilian Leadership
- Orchestrating Collaboration, Leadership and Innovation Through Music
- Meta-Cognitive Approach for Global Leadership Competency Training
- America's Got Talent! It's Called Global Leadership - Start to Finish
- Lost Secrets of Effective Leadership Training
- What the Bleep do we know about Global Leadership and Multicultural Effectiveness?
- Building a Successful Leadership Development Program: A Collaborative Experience
- No Money, No Problems: Stretching your Leadership Training Dollars
- Maximizing the Transfer of Leadership Learning Back to the Job
...and all of these were only from SUNDAY! There were still more sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
My point - Leadership is still the foundation of any successful organization, and many of us still don't have it right.
I am honored to be on the board of directors for the Blue Ridge Conference on Leadership. We host an annual Leadership Conference in October in Asheville, NC. Watch our 90 second promo video for this years conference below, or click HERE to watch it.
If you are looking for a reason to spend a couple of days in the Great Smoky Mountains watching the leaves change in October, then this might be the conference for you.
To learn more, go to www.blueridgeleadership.com, and I hope to see you there!
Leadership and People...People who need...people...
Babs once sang that "People, People who need people, are the luckiest people in the world..." I was at Wal-Mart last night looking for a travel shaving kit. Boy, it took a long time to find. I tried housewares, then by the suitcases, then over to toiletries, and finally I found it in the women's make-up section.
As a customer, I need people.
Everytime I call a company and get a phone tree, I will always push zero in the hopes that it will bypass the system and get me to a person.
I know you do it too.
Ally Bank has done a nice job with its current branding regarding customer service. If you have not seen their "blender" commercial, click here or just watch it below.
I planned to ask the door greeter where I should look, but I forgot they were downsized...and replaced with this sign.
Blenders...signage...what's next?
Neither are a good replacement for good old fashioned human interaction.
How is your company handling its customers?
Remember,
People...need people...
Leadership and Ickypoo
John Maxwell often says that "Leaders are Readers," and I agree 100%.
Last week, I read The Hunger Games in 3 nights. I saw it as a way to bond with Madison, my 14-year old daughter. It worked. Now we can have chats about Katniss and Peeta, and I have become the cool dad...for about 2-3 days.
Then I will be back to being a loser dad.
Last Thursday, my co-workers and I volunteered to read to elementary school students at Bush Hills Academy in Birmingham, Alabama. It was part of a three-day initiative called Birmingham Reads. It was put on jointly by Better Basics and three other local non-profits.
Over 700 volunteers read books to over 14,000 students in the City of Birmingham School system. Ayla Russell, Stephen Owens and I were excited about this opportunity to have an impact in children's lives.
We did not read The Hunger Games to the students. Ours were more age appropriate. Titles like Curious George for the Kindergarteners, Fluffy for the first graders, and even Ickypoo for the fifth graders.
Stephen made a rookie error. In his attempt to be light and approachable with his first grade kids, his conversation went like this...
If you are not from the Birmingham area, do a google search for your local literacy council, junior league, or other non-profit that works with children's literacy.
The latest numbers show that only 56 out of 100 high school freshmen will graduate high school.
That is a scary number.
Could it be that they never found a passion for reading?
You could be that passion for them as a leader...
because...leaders ARE readers.
Last week, I read The Hunger Games in 3 nights. I saw it as a way to bond with Madison, my 14-year old daughter. It worked. Now we can have chats about Katniss and Peeta, and I have become the cool dad...for about 2-3 days.
Then I will be back to being a loser dad.
Last Thursday, my co-workers and I volunteered to read to elementary school students at Bush Hills Academy in Birmingham, Alabama. It was part of a three-day initiative called Birmingham Reads. It was put on jointly by Better Basics and three other local non-profits.
Over 700 volunteers read books to over 14,000 students in the City of Birmingham School system. Ayla Russell, Stephen Owens and I were excited about this opportunity to have an impact in children's lives.
We did not read The Hunger Games to the students. Ours were more age appropriate. Titles like Curious George for the Kindergarteners, Fluffy for the first graders, and even Ickypoo for the fifth graders.
Stephen made a rookie error. In his attempt to be light and approachable with his first grade kids, his conversation went like this...Stephen: "Hi kids - today I am going to read a book to you titled Fluffy! It's about a cat. Do any of you have a cat?"
Child One: "I used to, but he died..."
Stephen: "I am so sorry to hear that."
Child Two: "My kitty cat died too..."
Stephen: "Wow, yours died as well. That is really sad."
Child Three: "I used to have a kitty, and..."
Stephen: "OK, ALL RIGHT! I UNDERSTAND. Let's move on. Let's get started with the book titled Fluffy."
Rookie error. Just read the book...
I recommend making an OUTLOOK reminder on your calendar right now for March 1, 2013. Set yourself a reminder to check www.birminghamreads.com. The website will most likely be active again next year, and this is a great event...for both the volunteers AND the kids.
If you are not from the Birmingham area, do a google search for your local literacy council, junior league, or other non-profit that works with children's literacy.
The latest numbers show that only 56 out of 100 high school freshmen will graduate high school.
That is a scary number.
Could it be that they never found a passion for reading?
You could be that passion for them as a leader...
because...leaders ARE readers.
Leadership and I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream... (Part Deux)
So who was right regarding the great ice cream scandal of 2012?
Paul, one of my friends, told me that I should have just ordered a brownie a la mode, asked for a second scoop of ice cream, told them to "hold the brownie", paid for whatever the final amount was, and everyone would have been happy.
Note: Sounds like a scene straight out of "Five Easy Pieces!" If you have not seen the infamous restaurant scene from this 1970's Jack Nicholson classic, you can view the short version here.
Should Zippy have served me the ice cream?
Or was I just one of those annoying customers who can't follow the rules and is always looking for an exception?
It depends...on SO many factors.
First of all, I think she had every right to follow the policy of the store and follow the training that she received. Therefore, she was correct to not serve me ice cream IF...
- she was following policy
- she was told by a manager to not sell individual scoops of ice cream.
However, I am not sure that was the case here. The fact that the manager admitted to me that "we can sell you scoops of ice cream" leads me to believe that there must not be a hard and fast policy...
Or if there is, then this manager has NO problem pulling the rug out from her employees - which may also be the case...but that creates a whole new can of worms.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to empowerment!
So, take this concept and apply it to your environment and ask yourself if your employees are empowered?
After working at Disney for 13 years, I truly believe that empowerment = inconsistency. Once you start empowering employees, you have to be prepared for them to make some mistakes along the way.
But so what?
All of us learn through teachable moments. If this employee felt empowered, she would have served me the ice cream. Then, if that was the wrong decision, she could have been coached on other options by her manager.
Lee Cockerell, a former VP at Walt Disney World, used to always say that "...there are two types of decisions you will make in life: reversible and non-reversible. Thankfully, over 95% of your decisions you every make will be reversible."
So when it comes to ice cream, or retail, or finance, or whatever business you are in, you can really enhance your customer experience with the following...
- Make sure all employees know the difference between a policy, a law, a rule, and a recommended action.
- Make sure all employees feel empowered to make the right decisions at the time.
- Make sure you, as a manager, create an environment of trust and respect where employees can flourish
.
- Make sure you, as a manager, are always coaching and developing your employees when they make mistakes.
Next time, I'll just pack a sack of astronaut ice cream...
Paul, one of my friends, told me that I should have just ordered a brownie a la mode, asked for a second scoop of ice cream, told them to "hold the brownie", paid for whatever the final amount was, and everyone would have been happy.
Note: Sounds like a scene straight out of "Five Easy Pieces!" If you have not seen the infamous restaurant scene from this 1970's Jack Nicholson classic, you can view the short version here.Should Zippy have served me the ice cream?
Or was I just one of those annoying customers who can't follow the rules and is always looking for an exception?
It depends...on SO many factors.
First of all, I think she had every right to follow the policy of the store and follow the training that she received. Therefore, she was correct to not serve me ice cream IF...
- she was following policy
- she was told by a manager to not sell individual scoops of ice cream.
However, I am not sure that was the case here. The fact that the manager admitted to me that "we can sell you scoops of ice cream" leads me to believe that there must not be a hard and fast policy...
Or if there is, then this manager has NO problem pulling the rug out from her employees - which may also be the case...but that creates a whole new can of worms.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to empowerment!
So, take this concept and apply it to your environment and ask yourself if your employees are empowered?
After working at Disney for 13 years, I truly believe that empowerment = inconsistency. Once you start empowering employees, you have to be prepared for them to make some mistakes along the way.
But so what?
All of us learn through teachable moments. If this employee felt empowered, she would have served me the ice cream. Then, if that was the wrong decision, she could have been coached on other options by her manager.
Lee Cockerell, a former VP at Walt Disney World, used to always say that "...there are two types of decisions you will make in life: reversible and non-reversible. Thankfully, over 95% of your decisions you every make will be reversible."
So when it comes to ice cream, or retail, or finance, or whatever business you are in, you can really enhance your customer experience with the following...
- Make sure all employees know the difference between a policy, a law, a rule, and a recommended action.
- Make sure all employees feel empowered to make the right decisions at the time.
- Make sure you, as a manager, create an environment of trust and respect where employees can flourish
.
- Make sure you, as a manager, are always coaching and developing your employees when they make mistakes.
Next time, I'll just pack a sack of astronaut ice cream...
Leadership and I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream...
Thanks to everyone who read and kept up with the 7-part series on our tornado experience. We are very blessed with all the comments and prayers that you have sent our way.
But for now, it is time to get back to sharing more leadership lessons. While not as heart-stopping as a tornado, I hope you will find this next story just as exciting.
My family and I just returned from a trip to Walt Disney World. Many of you know that I worked there for 13 years. It is a world class organization when it comes to customer service...
But even Disney makes mistakes...
or do they?
Here are the facts as they happened last week.
Sherri, Madison, Logan and I were in the Magic Kingdom Park and just finished watching the 10:00pm fireworks.
The park also closed that night at 10:00pm, but the shops and snack areas on Main Street U.S.A remain open until about 11:00pm or so.
I am not one to walk with the masses towards the exit, so I decided this would be a great time for us to get some ice cream from the Main Street Ice Cream Parlor. We could all enjoy a scoop or two, sit on a park bench, and watch the sea of humanity exit the park. FYI - We were staying at a Disney Resort, and the buses run late as well, so we were in no real hurry.
At 10:30, I approached the ice cream parlor, only to see that it was closed for refurbishment.
I like ice cream...
I wanted ice cream...
This presented a slight problem, and seemed to be a detriment to my master plan.
However, not to fear...as right next door was the Main Street Bakery, and it was still open.
"I wonder if they have ice cream," I thought to myself.
By the way, if Sherri were telling this story, she might add that I had a crazed look in my eyes, and that I was searching for Ice Cream as if I needed it to survive. She was worried that another defeat in the now infamous ice cream search could lead to a serious mental breakdown.
I don't remember it like that. I just wanted ice cream...VERY BADLY!!!!
Upon meandering into the Main Street Bakery, we head into the queue line, where I search the menu on the wall for those magical dairy words. I see sandwiches, brownies, pies, cakes, etc...
No luck!
BUT WAIT!
Underneath the options for 'tempting desserts' on the menu, I see the Disney Magic I was looking for...
Available a' la' mode.
I truly believed that the heavens parted, and a giant ray of light descended from above and shown directly onto the words "a la mode."
I think I heard angels singing.
A great day at Disney was about to be topped off with exactly what I wanted...ice cream.
I step up to the counter and confidently place my order...
"Hi there! I am just looking for two scoops of ice cream."
"I am sorry, sir. We don't sell ice cream."
Pete Befuddled - "I know that. But I do see that you can serve desserts a la mode, so I would just like the a la mode part."
Cast Member Now Befuddled - "We can put a scoop of ice cream on top of any dessert. If you would like a brownie or piece of pie, we can add ice cream."
Pete moving from befuddled to shocked - "I understand that. But I know that you have ice cream, and I don't want the brownie. I would just like two scoops of ice cream."
Cast Member Still Befuddled - "No sir, I am sorry."
I then paused with a look of bewilderment. The Cast Member looked back with a hint of sympathy, but more of a look of "please move along now."
And then, as if coming to the rescue of her fellow team member, ZIPPY moved in to assist.
Note - Zippy was not her name, but I don't know a single person named Zippy, so I thought it would be a good moniker for this story.
Zippy spoke at me.
"Sir, we cannot sell you ice cream by the scoop. We do not have a way to sell that to you. If you would like another dessert with ice cream on it, we can do that, but there is no way for us to sell you two scoops of ice cream."
Note - At this point, Sherri might tell you that steam was coming out of my ears, my face was reddening, and I had veins popping out of my head.
I stand by my version, which is that I calmly said "thank you" and began to exit the bakery.
But wait! On the horizon...what do I see locking up the front doors to the bakery?
It's...the manager.
I know it's the manager as she is carrying about thirty five hundred keys on her keychain.
As a leadership trainer and a connoisseur of feedback, I must share this experience with her. It is not just my right...but my duty!
Note - at this point, Sherri and the kids have walked away as they know what is about to happen. She is not a big fan of me when I give feedback to employees across the world.
"Excuse me, ma'am, are you the manager?
"Yes, how can I help you?"
"Well, I just wanted to share some feedback with you. I really wanted ice cream tonight, and I know that the ice cream shop next door is closed..."
"Yes, they will reopen on Friday," she replied.
"I know, but I wanted ice cream tonight. When I tried to purchase some from the counter, they would not accommodate me. Can you tell me..."
She interrupted me.
"Oh, we can get you some ice cream."
Insert a look of incredulousness on my face here.
"Actually, I just tried to get some, and they told me they could not get me any."
"Really. No, we can get you ice cream. Please come with me."
As we turned to walk back towards the counter, I made eye contact with Zippy...
She had the most horrified look on her face. She KNEW that I had received the "all clear" for ice cream, and who knew what was going through her mind. I decided to let her off the hook.
"Actually, ma'am, it's OK. I don't really need any ice cream anyways. But thanks for letting me know".
...and I politely headed out the door and made my way towards our bus.
Or, as Sherri might say, I huffed and puffed and decided to take my toys and go home.
Now, here is the million dollar question.
Who was right?
I just wanted ice cream. They had ice cream. Apparently, the manager thought it was OK to give me ice cream.
However...
The Bakery must have had a policy. The policy was to only sell ice cream as an a la mode option. They were "not allowed" to sell individual ice cream.
So who was right?
I have the answer, and will tell you next week.
But if you want to chime in, feel free to comment. I would love to hear what you think!
But for now, it is time to get back to sharing more leadership lessons. While not as heart-stopping as a tornado, I hope you will find this next story just as exciting.
My family and I just returned from a trip to Walt Disney World. Many of you know that I worked there for 13 years. It is a world class organization when it comes to customer service...
But even Disney makes mistakes...
or do they?
Here are the facts as they happened last week.
Sherri, Madison, Logan and I were in the Magic Kingdom Park and just finished watching the 10:00pm fireworks.
The park also closed that night at 10:00pm, but the shops and snack areas on Main Street U.S.A remain open until about 11:00pm or so.
I am not one to walk with the masses towards the exit, so I decided this would be a great time for us to get some ice cream from the Main Street Ice Cream Parlor. We could all enjoy a scoop or two, sit on a park bench, and watch the sea of humanity exit the park. FYI - We were staying at a Disney Resort, and the buses run late as well, so we were in no real hurry.
At 10:30, I approached the ice cream parlor, only to see that it was closed for refurbishment.
I like ice cream...I wanted ice cream...
This presented a slight problem, and seemed to be a detriment to my master plan.
However, not to fear...as right next door was the Main Street Bakery, and it was still open.
"I wonder if they have ice cream," I thought to myself.
By the way, if Sherri were telling this story, she might add that I had a crazed look in my eyes, and that I was searching for Ice Cream as if I needed it to survive. She was worried that another defeat in the now infamous ice cream search could lead to a serious mental breakdown.
I don't remember it like that. I just wanted ice cream...VERY BADLY!!!!
Upon meandering into the Main Street Bakery, we head into the queue line, where I search the menu on the wall for those magical dairy words. I see sandwiches, brownies, pies, cakes, etc...
No luck!
BUT WAIT!
Underneath the options for 'tempting desserts' on the menu, I see the Disney Magic I was looking for...
Available a' la' mode.
I truly believed that the heavens parted, and a giant ray of light descended from above and shown directly onto the words "a la mode."
I think I heard angels singing.
A great day at Disney was about to be topped off with exactly what I wanted...ice cream.
I step up to the counter and confidently place my order...
"Hi there! I am just looking for two scoops of ice cream."
"I am sorry, sir. We don't sell ice cream."
Pete Befuddled - "I know that. But I do see that you can serve desserts a la mode, so I would just like the a la mode part."
Cast Member Now Befuddled - "We can put a scoop of ice cream on top of any dessert. If you would like a brownie or piece of pie, we can add ice cream."
Pete moving from befuddled to shocked - "I understand that. But I know that you have ice cream, and I don't want the brownie. I would just like two scoops of ice cream."
Cast Member Still Befuddled - "No sir, I am sorry."
I then paused with a look of bewilderment. The Cast Member looked back with a hint of sympathy, but more of a look of "please move along now."
And then, as if coming to the rescue of her fellow team member, ZIPPY moved in to assist.
Note - Zippy was not her name, but I don't know a single person named Zippy, so I thought it would be a good moniker for this story.
Zippy spoke at me.
"Sir, we cannot sell you ice cream by the scoop. We do not have a way to sell that to you. If you would like another dessert with ice cream on it, we can do that, but there is no way for us to sell you two scoops of ice cream."
Note - At this point, Sherri might tell you that steam was coming out of my ears, my face was reddening, and I had veins popping out of my head.
I stand by my version, which is that I calmly said "thank you" and began to exit the bakery.
But wait! On the horizon...what do I see locking up the front doors to the bakery?
It's...the manager.
I know it's the manager as she is carrying about thirty five hundred keys on her keychain.
As a leadership trainer and a connoisseur of feedback, I must share this experience with her. It is not just my right...but my duty!
Note - at this point, Sherri and the kids have walked away as they know what is about to happen. She is not a big fan of me when I give feedback to employees across the world.
"Excuse me, ma'am, are you the manager?
"Yes, how can I help you?"
"Well, I just wanted to share some feedback with you. I really wanted ice cream tonight, and I know that the ice cream shop next door is closed..."
"Yes, they will reopen on Friday," she replied.
"I know, but I wanted ice cream tonight. When I tried to purchase some from the counter, they would not accommodate me. Can you tell me..."
She interrupted me.
"Oh, we can get you some ice cream."
Insert a look of incredulousness on my face here.
"Actually, I just tried to get some, and they told me they could not get me any."
"Really. No, we can get you ice cream. Please come with me."
As we turned to walk back towards the counter, I made eye contact with Zippy...
She had the most horrified look on her face. She KNEW that I had received the "all clear" for ice cream, and who knew what was going through her mind. I decided to let her off the hook.
"Actually, ma'am, it's OK. I don't really need any ice cream anyways. But thanks for letting me know".
...and I politely headed out the door and made my way towards our bus.
Or, as Sherri might say, I huffed and puffed and decided to take my toys and go home.
Now, here is the million dollar question.
Who was right?
I just wanted ice cream. They had ice cream. Apparently, the manager thought it was OK to give me ice cream.
However...
The Bakery must have had a policy. The policy was to only sell ice cream as an a la mode option. They were "not allowed" to sell individual ice cream.
So who was right?
I have the answer, and will tell you next week.
But if you want to chime in, feel free to comment. I would love to hear what you think!
Leadership and You say TorNEIGHdo, I say TorNAHdo (Part 7 - FINAL)
This is part seven (and the final part) in a multi-part series...
As all four of us walked up our main road, I still was not comprehending what had happened.
We sat in the back of an ambulance for about 10 minutes...
until they rescued Bob from his home.
He was coming towards us in a stretcher and they needed the ambulance. He was conscious, but looked like he was hurting bad. We later found out he also protected his daughter by laying across her, and he was rewarded with a punctured lung, cracked ribs, and a leg that was broken in about 10 different places.
He was in the hospital for a few weeks, but is out now and going through the rehabilitation process.
We then moved to the fire chief's truck, where we waited for about 30 minutes. We watched more of our neighbors walking out towards the main road. Some we knew...some we did not know. Yet we felt strangely close to each and every one.
Sherri's Mom and Dad were there with their car, and we eventually all got into their SUV and drove back to their home in Clay...about 10 minutes away.
They are being so great to us. We are currently living with them as we rebuild on the same lot. We have a builder, and hope to be back in our home by the Fall Holiday season.
The events of January 23, 2012 will forever be etched in our memory. I have already told my kids the date will be so easy to remember...1-23-12 (one-two three-one-two).
I have learned so much from this experience - leadership lessons, humanity lessons, family lessons and so on. While there is no way I can thank everyone in this blog post, I can share just a few things that I am taking away from this...
- There is nothing more important than family.
- If you treat people right, they will be there for you when you need them.
- I thought I was a "giving" person. I was wrong.
- Target sells men's dress shoes, and they are very comfortable and inexpensive to boot.
- Your insurance company will want to see your house plans if you lose your entire house in a tornado. They need them to know what to pay you for your house. I had my plans...in my house! I should have kept them elsewhere.
- Everyone tells you to keep a video or written inventory of your home contents. I never did that. Now I have to fill out a 1,175 page document listing everything I every owned from memory. This should be fun...
- I love my wife and kids with every ounce of my being, and I am glad we all survived.
-As much as I love them, I love Jesus even more.
- Always keep a pair of shoes, helmet, and flashlights in your tornado safe room.
- People who experience a tragedy together seem to have a common bond that brings them closer. I only knew about 25% of my neighbors before the tornado, and now I feel like I know all of them, and want to get to know them even better.
- I learned that Social Media is POWERFUL. At 5:32am on 1-23-12, Madison, my sweet 14 year old daughter, posted the following on Facebook:
"For everyone who has been praying thank you so much! My family and my dog are all ok. We are now in an ambulance keeping dry. Our whole house is gone but things can always be replaced. I praise God for keeping my family safe!"
Within minutes, the world of social media began to spin. Facebook and Twitter were all a flutter and our phones began to ring. It was amazing to see how fast news can travel these day.
- I love that Madison mentioned Lulabelle (our yellow lab) in her post.
- I love that my daughter praised God in her post. I love her heart and spirit
- Finally, I learned that I will never be able to pay back the gift cards, money, time, and prayers that has been given to us over the past 2 months. I can promise you that the Blank family intends to pay it forward more than we ever have before.
The next time I post, it will not be about the tornado. It's time to move forward and re-focus on leadership.
Thanks to God for being the ultimate leader...
As all four of us walked up our main road, I still was not comprehending what had happened.
We sat in the back of an ambulance for about 10 minutes...
until they rescued Bob from his home.
He was coming towards us in a stretcher and they needed the ambulance. He was conscious, but looked like he was hurting bad. We later found out he also protected his daughter by laying across her, and he was rewarded with a punctured lung, cracked ribs, and a leg that was broken in about 10 different places.
He was in the hospital for a few weeks, but is out now and going through the rehabilitation process.
We then moved to the fire chief's truck, where we waited for about 30 minutes. We watched more of our neighbors walking out towards the main road. Some we knew...some we did not know. Yet we felt strangely close to each and every one.Sherri's Mom and Dad were there with their car, and we eventually all got into their SUV and drove back to their home in Clay...about 10 minutes away.
They are being so great to us. We are currently living with them as we rebuild on the same lot. We have a builder, and hope to be back in our home by the Fall Holiday season.
The events of January 23, 2012 will forever be etched in our memory. I have already told my kids the date will be so easy to remember...1-23-12 (one-two three-one-two).
I have learned so much from this experience - leadership lessons, humanity lessons, family lessons and so on. While there is no way I can thank everyone in this blog post, I can share just a few things that I am taking away from this...
- There is nothing more important than family.
- If you treat people right, they will be there for you when you need them.
- I thought I was a "giving" person. I was wrong.
- Target sells men's dress shoes, and they are very comfortable and inexpensive to boot.
- Your insurance company will want to see your house plans if you lose your entire house in a tornado. They need them to know what to pay you for your house. I had my plans...in my house! I should have kept them elsewhere.
- Everyone tells you to keep a video or written inventory of your home contents. I never did that. Now I have to fill out a 1,175 page document listing everything I every owned from memory. This should be fun...
- I love my wife and kids with every ounce of my being, and I am glad we all survived.
-As much as I love them, I love Jesus even more.
- Always keep a pair of shoes, helmet, and flashlights in your tornado safe room.
- People who experience a tragedy together seem to have a common bond that brings them closer. I only knew about 25% of my neighbors before the tornado, and now I feel like I know all of them, and want to get to know them even better.
- I learned that Social Media is POWERFUL. At 5:32am on 1-23-12, Madison, my sweet 14 year old daughter, posted the following on Facebook:
"For everyone who has been praying thank you so much! My family and my dog are all ok. We are now in an ambulance keeping dry. Our whole house is gone but things can always be replaced. I praise God for keeping my family safe!"
Within minutes, the world of social media began to spin. Facebook and Twitter were all a flutter and our phones began to ring. It was amazing to see how fast news can travel these day.
- I love that Madison mentioned Lulabelle (our yellow lab) in her post.
- I love that my daughter praised God in her post. I love her heart and spirit
- Finally, I learned that I will never be able to pay back the gift cards, money, time, and prayers that has been given to us over the past 2 months. I can promise you that the Blank family intends to pay it forward more than we ever have before.
The next time I post, it will not be about the tornado. It's time to move forward and re-focus on leadership.
Thanks to God for being the ultimate leader...
Leadership and You say TorNEIGHdo, I say TorNAHdo (Part 6)
This is part six in a multi-part series...
There were many firefighters, volunteers, and rescue personnel who helped us that morning, but two special people are Wade Cox and Wesley Cox.
This father (Wade) and son (Wesley) both work in the fire and rescue service. Not only did they get us out (along with many others), they also came back to our home on Wednesday to check on us.
Then they stayed at our home, along with other members of their family, and helped us attempt to reclaim as many contents as we could.
They stayed for over 6 hours.
Here is their story in their own words:
Wade: When Wesley (my son) and I parked out on Deerfoot and walked into the subdivision on that cold, wet, rainy Monday morning, we saw nothing but total devastation.
There were already crews at the first house on the right. We walked down the main street (Jonathans Way) and noticed many residents walking out.
One of the most ironic things was that the call to 6229 Jonathans Way (my house) was one of the first calls to be dispatched. The call was for four people trapped in a basement. Normally, when I am off duty (as I was this night), it takes me a while to get up and get going. But I felt like I needed to get up right away and go assist where I could. My wife actually told me "You NEED to go!"
Once we got to the middle of the block, Wesley walked across the street to help in a basement that was accessible.
Wesley: I arrived and saw some other guys that I knew, including Lt. Hank Moore and Ricky Vest and other guys from Engine 32.
After my dad yelled at me to come over and help, I tried to come in from another angle. I saw a stairwell that had fallen down and thought if I used an ax, I could punch through that and we could perhaps crawl in. But as we still did not know exactly where you were, we decided against that.
Wade: The whole time I kept wondering to myself what I was looking at. I was trying to assess what i saw vs. what it was.
There was just debris on top of debris on top of debris. Your house had so much devastation. It looked like the the first floor had moved and shifted back to back and that assisted with all the walls coming down.
There we so many contents that had fallen in and down. You were covered by so much debris, but also by wires and plumbing and all that other stuff that gets in the way. We finally located where you were, and on top of that area was a Bible.
Wesley: There was another guy in the hole with us. We really were not sure who he was or where he came from. It took a while to clean off all the rubble and it was nice to finally get to the drywall. I began to punch through it and pull it back.
Wade: I was on the garage side of the basement, and locating where you all were was very, very hard. You all kept yelling that you were "laying on the couches." We had no idea what that meant as we did not know where the couches were. All we saw was a huge pile of rubble.
Wesley: The whole front wall was on top of you, as well as two other walls. Lots of bricks. We removed Madison and Sherri, but it took us longer to get you and Logan out. The wall on top of you was very heavy. It took three of us just to lift it off of you.
Wade: Logan (my 10 year old son) scared us most of all. Once we broke through, it seemed as if all of you were talking except for him. We were really concerned for a few minutes.
Part of that was because we told him to look down and close his eyes while we were breaking through everything. He did a great job, because he did not move at all.
It probably took about 45 minutes...maybe less, maybe more...from the time we arrived to the time we got you out.
It was tough to get Lulabelle out. Once you all were safe, she was our last one to get, but she was so scared and wedged herself under the coffee table. It took a little bit of pulling, but we got her out.
Wesley: The thing I will never forget is the smell. It was such a distinct combination of rain, drywall, natural gas and so on. It was an eerie smell.
We will always be connected to Wade and Wesley Cox. I know that anyone could have rescued us, but these men truly connected with us.
It's funny to hear Wesley talk about the smell. As soon as I shared this with Madison, she reminded me that she had said the exact same thing. Logan tends to remember the loud noise that was associated with the tornado, and Madison will always remember that smell.
We walked up the street from our house that morning. Sherri's mom and dad were waiting for us in our driveway. I remember one of my neighbors walking side by side with me holding a flashlight down on the road so that I could see where I was going. There was a tremendous amount of glass, wood, nails, and other materials all over the road. Without him, I surely would have needed a tetanus shot.
Sherri was carried out by a stranger. They insisted that they piggyback her out from our house to the main entrance of the subdivision. The amount of people who helped us has strengthened my trust in the human spirit.
As all four of us walked up our main road, I still was not comprehending what had happened.
In my next post, I will share what happened (both in front of my eyes and in my mind as well) as we sat there in the rain at the front of our subdivision and waited for our neighbors...
There were many firefighters, volunteers, and rescue personnel who helped us that morning, but two special people are Wade Cox and Wesley Cox.
This father (Wade) and son (Wesley) both work in the fire and rescue service. Not only did they get us out (along with many others), they also came back to our home on Wednesday to check on us.Then they stayed at our home, along with other members of their family, and helped us attempt to reclaim as many contents as we could.
They stayed for over 6 hours.
Here is their story in their own words:
Wade: When Wesley (my son) and I parked out on Deerfoot and walked into the subdivision on that cold, wet, rainy Monday morning, we saw nothing but total devastation.
There were already crews at the first house on the right. We walked down the main street (Jonathans Way) and noticed many residents walking out.
One of the most ironic things was that the call to 6229 Jonathans Way (my house) was one of the first calls to be dispatched. The call was for four people trapped in a basement. Normally, when I am off duty (as I was this night), it takes me a while to get up and get going. But I felt like I needed to get up right away and go assist where I could. My wife actually told me "You NEED to go!"
Once we got to the middle of the block, Wesley walked across the street to help in a basement that was accessible.
Wesley: I arrived and saw some other guys that I knew, including Lt. Hank Moore and Ricky Vest and other guys from Engine 32.
After my dad yelled at me to come over and help, I tried to come in from another angle. I saw a stairwell that had fallen down and thought if I used an ax, I could punch through that and we could perhaps crawl in. But as we still did not know exactly where you were, we decided against that.
Wade: The whole time I kept wondering to myself what I was looking at. I was trying to assess what i saw vs. what it was.
There was just debris on top of debris on top of debris. Your house had so much devastation. It looked like the the first floor had moved and shifted back to back and that assisted with all the walls coming down.
There we so many contents that had fallen in and down. You were covered by so much debris, but also by wires and plumbing and all that other stuff that gets in the way. We finally located where you were, and on top of that area was a Bible.
Wesley: There was another guy in the hole with us. We really were not sure who he was or where he came from. It took a while to clean off all the rubble and it was nice to finally get to the drywall. I began to punch through it and pull it back.
Wade: I was on the garage side of the basement, and locating where you all were was very, very hard. You all kept yelling that you were "laying on the couches." We had no idea what that meant as we did not know where the couches were. All we saw was a huge pile of rubble.
Wesley: The whole front wall was on top of you, as well as two other walls. Lots of bricks. We removed Madison and Sherri, but it took us longer to get you and Logan out. The wall on top of you was very heavy. It took three of us just to lift it off of you.
Wade: Logan (my 10 year old son) scared us most of all. Once we broke through, it seemed as if all of you were talking except for him. We were really concerned for a few minutes.
Part of that was because we told him to look down and close his eyes while we were breaking through everything. He did a great job, because he did not move at all.
It probably took about 45 minutes...maybe less, maybe more...from the time we arrived to the time we got you out.
It was tough to get Lulabelle out. Once you all were safe, she was our last one to get, but she was so scared and wedged herself under the coffee table. It took a little bit of pulling, but we got her out.
Wesley: The thing I will never forget is the smell. It was such a distinct combination of rain, drywall, natural gas and so on. It was an eerie smell.
We will always be connected to Wade and Wesley Cox. I know that anyone could have rescued us, but these men truly connected with us.
It's funny to hear Wesley talk about the smell. As soon as I shared this with Madison, she reminded me that she had said the exact same thing. Logan tends to remember the loud noise that was associated with the tornado, and Madison will always remember that smell.
We walked up the street from our house that morning. Sherri's mom and dad were waiting for us in our driveway. I remember one of my neighbors walking side by side with me holding a flashlight down on the road so that I could see where I was going. There was a tremendous amount of glass, wood, nails, and other materials all over the road. Without him, I surely would have needed a tetanus shot.
Sherri was carried out by a stranger. They insisted that they piggyback her out from our house to the main entrance of the subdivision. The amount of people who helped us has strengthened my trust in the human spirit.
As all four of us walked up our main road, I still was not comprehending what had happened.
In my next post, I will share what happened (both in front of my eyes and in my mind as well) as we sat there in the rain at the front of our subdivision and waited for our neighbors...
Leadership and You say TorNEIGHdo, I say TorNAHdo (Part 5)
This is part five in a multi-part series...
"WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU OUT! THERE IS A LOT OF RUBBLE AND MATERIALS THAT WE HAVE TO MOVE. HANG TIGHT! THIS MAY TAKE SOME TIME."
and then...for the first time...I was truly scared. In fact, I was about to be the most scared I had been all morning.
And with good reason.
I was so scared because I started to think ahead to how they were going to get us out. They were going to have to walk on top of all the rubble...and that was going to push us down even further. I was worried about have multiple people walking on top of us, stepping wrong, and then something falling down and smushing us.
This post has taken me longer to type than the others. I wanted to talk with the firefighters who rescued us. In addition, I have been receiving correspondence from our neighbors on their experiences. For example, here is an e-mail I received earlier this week from my neighbor Matt. He lives two doors down from me...
"Hey Pete...I'm your neighbor from two doors down. I yelled my lungs out for your guys about four or five minutes after the storm came through. I had the sickest feeling in my stomach you can imagine when I did not hear any response (two floors of debris does have a bit of a muting effect on sound). I cannot express adequately how thankful to God I was to see you guys walking out.
It has been pretty tough driving past the desolation of all the homesites headed to and from work each day, but I remind myself of the miracle that everyone on our street made it out alive as I pass each homesite, and it helps..."
That's a scary feeling to think that people were yelling for us before the rescue personnel arrived, and we could not hear them.
As we finally heard the voices of the rescue personnel, we got very excited. We now knew that help was right above us, and our goal was to remain calm...
Which was difficult when we heard the following dialogue...
"I think they are right under here."
"I've got an ax if that helps."
"NO! Don't use an ax! Their heads are very close to this area."
Funny how they were so specific about our heads. If they were going to use the ax and it might split open my leg, that would be OK. But let's not use it, as it might split their heads open.
Great, I thought. We made it through a tornado and now I was going to be axed to death...
Luckily, the ax was not used, and the rescue continued.
We continued to lay flat and breathe as calmly as we possible could. We heard the rescuers moving lots and lots of debris off of us. They were throwing bricks and cinder blocks. They were pulling back pipes and moving furniture off to the side. They had to do some serious work to get to us.
Again, Sherri and talked afterwards that although we should have been ecstatic, we were both still very worried.
The more debris they removed, the more they got closer to us...
And the closer they got to us, the more it hurt when they walked on top of the debris that was laying on top of us.
"YOU'RE SQUISHING US! YOU'RE SQUISHING US!" I yelled!
This was the loudest I had yelled the whole time, and as I mentioned, it was the most scary time for me. I was already flat on top of Logan, and I worried that I was going to suffocate my own son if they kept applying that pressure to us.
"Hang in there! We have to move around to get this debris off so we can get to you!"
And I understood that. They really had no choice.
I later learned that this is the point where Sherri began to smell gas. I knew that we has a gas heater in our basement, and I am sure the gas lines to the fireplace and outdoor grill had been severed. Although I was not smelling it, it sent a sense of fear and panic through Sherri.
We continue to wait...and listen...and pray...and wait. It seemed like forever, but must have been only 20-30 minutes.
And then we heard the voices MUCH clearer and MUCH louder.
It happened just like it does in every disaster movie you have ever seen.
All of a sudden, a hand punches through a layer of wet sheetrock. A combination of rainwater and light from a flashlight poured into our basement. The hand moved around and removed a larger piece of drywall and pulled it away.
We could see our rescuers...
and it was a GREAT feeling.
They punched through very close to Sherri and Madison. I could now see more helping hands pulling back wood beams, drywall, and bricks.
What a sense of relief as I could barely lift my head to look forward. I saw them pull out Madison and lift her up. They then could get to Sherri as well and help extricate her from the rubble.
I was so happy! I could look up and see my two girls standing on some type of wood floor looking down at me. They were safe...
I was so disoriented that I did not know what they were standing on. It looked like some type of large flooring piece that resembled a diving board. It was as if they were very high up looking down on Logan and me. I still thought my house was standing, which made this visual even harder to comprehend in the moment.
It took them about 15 more minutes to remove Logan and me. The wall that was pinning us down was big and heavy, and it took 3-4 guys to lift it up. They also had to break through some more drywall to get to us.
I remember them yelling "LOGAN, COVER YOUR EYES AND LOOK DOWN." He did just that. When they finally broke through over us, I remember a wet glove, covered in drywall, coming down from above and wiping all the wet sheetrock and mess off of Logan's head. He had kept his head down for so long that the drywall covered up his entire head. You almost could not see him.
They pulled Logan out and rushed him to the curb to see a paramedic/nurse and make sure he was OK.
And once the wall was off of me, I was finally able to stand up...and it was a great feeling.
I looked up into the sky and saw George Logan. George is a really good friend of mine. Our son's are in the same 4th grade class, and we both coach Little League. He was standing on top of a brick wall looking down at me, and he had this total sense of relief look on his face.
Of all the people I expected to see at that time, he was not one of them. He lives up in Clay about 10 minutes from my house. When he and his wife heard the tornado go through, he called my house to see if we were OK. Of course, we did not answer our phones as we did not have them.
When the news outlets reported that Pilgrim's Rest subdivision was hit, he jumped in his car and drove to our house. I later learned that when he first arrived, he called his wife to tell her that from what he saw, the news could not be very good. I guess that's why he gave me a huge bear hug when we finally connected later that morning!
There were many firefighters, volunteers, and rescue personnel who helped us that morning, but two special people are Wade Cox and Wesley Cox.
Next time, I will tell you their story. How they came to our house to get us out that morning has God written all over it.
And don't forget, this story is not yet over...
I still have to get out of the rubble whilst wearing a soggy pair of boxer shorts with nothing on my feet.
How in the world will I traverse the rusty nails, broken glass and sharp shards of brick to safety?
Stay tuned...
"WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU OUT! THERE IS A LOT OF RUBBLE AND MATERIALS THAT WE HAVE TO MOVE. HANG TIGHT! THIS MAY TAKE SOME TIME."
and then...for the first time...I was truly scared. In fact, I was about to be the most scared I had been all morning.
And with good reason.
I was so scared because I started to think ahead to how they were going to get us out. They were going to have to walk on top of all the rubble...and that was going to push us down even further. I was worried about have multiple people walking on top of us, stepping wrong, and then something falling down and smushing us.
This post has taken me longer to type than the others. I wanted to talk with the firefighters who rescued us. In addition, I have been receiving correspondence from our neighbors on their experiences. For example, here is an e-mail I received earlier this week from my neighbor Matt. He lives two doors down from me...
"Hey Pete...I'm your neighbor from two doors down. I yelled my lungs out for your guys about four or five minutes after the storm came through. I had the sickest feeling in my stomach you can imagine when I did not hear any response (two floors of debris does have a bit of a muting effect on sound). I cannot express adequately how thankful to God I was to see you guys walking out.
It has been pretty tough driving past the desolation of all the homesites headed to and from work each day, but I remind myself of the miracle that everyone on our street made it out alive as I pass each homesite, and it helps..."
That's a scary feeling to think that people were yelling for us before the rescue personnel arrived, and we could not hear them.
As we finally heard the voices of the rescue personnel, we got very excited. We now knew that help was right above us, and our goal was to remain calm...
Which was difficult when we heard the following dialogue...
"I think they are right under here.""I've got an ax if that helps."
"NO! Don't use an ax! Their heads are very close to this area."
Funny how they were so specific about our heads. If they were going to use the ax and it might split open my leg, that would be OK. But let's not use it, as it might split their heads open.
Great, I thought. We made it through a tornado and now I was going to be axed to death...
Luckily, the ax was not used, and the rescue continued.
We continued to lay flat and breathe as calmly as we possible could. We heard the rescuers moving lots and lots of debris off of us. They were throwing bricks and cinder blocks. They were pulling back pipes and moving furniture off to the side. They had to do some serious work to get to us.
Again, Sherri and talked afterwards that although we should have been ecstatic, we were both still very worried.
The more debris they removed, the more they got closer to us...
And the closer they got to us, the more it hurt when they walked on top of the debris that was laying on top of us.
"YOU'RE SQUISHING US! YOU'RE SQUISHING US!" I yelled!
This was the loudest I had yelled the whole time, and as I mentioned, it was the most scary time for me. I was already flat on top of Logan, and I worried that I was going to suffocate my own son if they kept applying that pressure to us."Hang in there! We have to move around to get this debris off so we can get to you!"
And I understood that. They really had no choice.
I later learned that this is the point where Sherri began to smell gas. I knew that we has a gas heater in our basement, and I am sure the gas lines to the fireplace and outdoor grill had been severed. Although I was not smelling it, it sent a sense of fear and panic through Sherri.
We continue to wait...and listen...and pray...and wait. It seemed like forever, but must have been only 20-30 minutes.
And then we heard the voices MUCH clearer and MUCH louder.
It happened just like it does in every disaster movie you have ever seen.
All of a sudden, a hand punches through a layer of wet sheetrock. A combination of rainwater and light from a flashlight poured into our basement. The hand moved around and removed a larger piece of drywall and pulled it away.
We could see our rescuers...
and it was a GREAT feeling.
They punched through very close to Sherri and Madison. I could now see more helping hands pulling back wood beams, drywall, and bricks.
What a sense of relief as I could barely lift my head to look forward. I saw them pull out Madison and lift her up. They then could get to Sherri as well and help extricate her from the rubble.I was so happy! I could look up and see my two girls standing on some type of wood floor looking down at me. They were safe...
I was so disoriented that I did not know what they were standing on. It looked like some type of large flooring piece that resembled a diving board. It was as if they were very high up looking down on Logan and me. I still thought my house was standing, which made this visual even harder to comprehend in the moment.
It took them about 15 more minutes to remove Logan and me. The wall that was pinning us down was big and heavy, and it took 3-4 guys to lift it up. They also had to break through some more drywall to get to us.
I remember them yelling "LOGAN, COVER YOUR EYES AND LOOK DOWN." He did just that. When they finally broke through over us, I remember a wet glove, covered in drywall, coming down from above and wiping all the wet sheetrock and mess off of Logan's head. He had kept his head down for so long that the drywall covered up his entire head. You almost could not see him.
They pulled Logan out and rushed him to the curb to see a paramedic/nurse and make sure he was OK.
And once the wall was off of me, I was finally able to stand up...and it was a great feeling.
I looked up into the sky and saw George Logan. George is a really good friend of mine. Our son's are in the same 4th grade class, and we both coach Little League. He was standing on top of a brick wall looking down at me, and he had this total sense of relief look on his face.
Of all the people I expected to see at that time, he was not one of them. He lives up in Clay about 10 minutes from my house. When he and his wife heard the tornado go through, he called my house to see if we were OK. Of course, we did not answer our phones as we did not have them.
When the news outlets reported that Pilgrim's Rest subdivision was hit, he jumped in his car and drove to our house. I later learned that when he first arrived, he called his wife to tell her that from what he saw, the news could not be very good. I guess that's why he gave me a huge bear hug when we finally connected later that morning!
There were many firefighters, volunteers, and rescue personnel who helped us that morning, but two special people are Wade Cox and Wesley Cox.Next time, I will tell you their story. How they came to our house to get us out that morning has God written all over it.
And don't forget, this story is not yet over...
I still have to get out of the rubble whilst wearing a soggy pair of boxer shorts with nothing on my feet.
How in the world will I traverse the rusty nails, broken glass and sharp shards of brick to safety?
Stay tuned...
Leadership and You say TorNEIGHdo, I say TorNAHdo (Part 4)
This is part four in a multi part series...
In the interest of time, no photographs have been added to part four. This part is text only
It was hard to measure time. Seconds seemed like minutes, and minutes seemed like even longer.
We passed the time soothing each other, and telling the kids that the worst was over and all would be well.
And then the most incredible realization came to my wife - one that would significantly impact how the next 60 minutes would play out.
She yelled out, "MADISON! Give me your cell phone!"
Leave it to my beautiful fourteen year old daughter to have brought her cell phone downstairs with her - and she was still holding onto it.
Authors note: I have been notified by many people that I am no longer allowed to yell at my daughter for being attached to her cell phone.
Sherri dialed 911, and when they picked up, she spoke calmer than I have ever heard before. I was so impressed. This was a time of crisis, and no one would have blamed her for FREAKING OUT! But she did not. This is what I heard her say...
"Hello, my name is Sherri Blank. I live at 6229 Jonathans Way in the Pilgrims Rest subdivision. A tornado has hit our house and we are trapped in the basement. We are all fine, but we need someone to come and get us out."
(pause)
"Correct...no one is injured."
(pause)
"I'm not sure...my husband and I are both covering our kids, but we cannot move as stuff has fallen on us."
(pause)
"Madison, what is your phone number? (pause) It is 205-...-....."
(pause)
"They may have to break the door down as we are in the basement. Or they can break down our back door or a window. Tell them to come in however they need to!
(pause)
"OK, thank you!"
A sense of relief fell over me, and over the family as well. 911 had been called, and help was on the way.
In the past, whenever we lose power, I never call Alabama Power. I always assume that someone else from another household has called, and I don't like tying up the phone lines with requests from the same neighborhood.
However, I did not feel that same way now. I was glad we had a phone. I did not know if anyone else had called for help, so it was a good feeling to know that we were in the queue.
Now all we had to do was wait for the sirens.
To the best of my recollection, approximately 15 minutes has passed since the tornado hit us. It is crazy to think back and wonder why we did not call 911 right away. Of course, we were not thinking clearly. Madison did not mention her phone, and we were still too loopy right after to remember that she had one.
Sherri then had another idea. Since she was now in possession of a phone, it was time to call her mom.
Time: 4:20am. Situation: House fallen on us. Condition: Buried under rubble.
Yes, this is going to be a good idea. Let's call your mom. This is EXACTLY what she wants to hear when awoken from a sound sleep in the wee hours of the morning.
"Mom...are you awake?"
(pause)
"I have something to tell you, but I need you to remain calm and not freak out."
(pause)
"First of all, we are all OK. But the tornado has hit our house, and we are trapped in the basement. I need you and Dad to come over here and make sure they get us out."
(pause)
"No, we have already called 911. They are on the way and will be here soon. However, you need to come over and make sure the fire department knows which house we are in."
(pause)
"Mother, it's OK. We're OK. Just get Dad and come on over. Love you too. Bye."
In the meantime, Madison has a good friend of hers named LeAnn who lives one street over from us. She was lying in bed on the top floor of her house when the tornado ripped the roof off her house. She called Madison's phone. I believe Sherri answered and I could hear LeAnn screaming...
"THE ROOF WAS BLOWN OFF OUR HOUSE! OUR HOUSE HAS NO ROOF!"
Sherri responded...
"LeAnn, are you OK? Is everyone OK. Good. We are trapped in our basement and can't get out and have to keep this line open. She will have to call you back."
I still laugh at how calm Sherri was. It was such a funny back-and-forth. If it was me, I would have said this.
"LeAnn, I am sorry you have no roof. However, I am currently under hundreds of pounds of rubble, I have an intense cramp in my right leg, and I have to pee. Right now, rubble + cramp + pee trumps no roof, so we will have to get back with you."
Luckily, it was Sherri with the phone.
And so we continued to wait.
At one point, we heard someone yelling, "HELLO! IS ANYONE THERE?"
"WE'RE DOWN HERE! WE ARE ALL DOWN HERE!" all of us yelled. But that person did not respond.
We found out later that voice was most likely one of our neighbors who was checking on us. Remember, at the time, we had no idea how deep under the rubble we were, and so we were still surprised when we yelled back, and did not get a response. They did not hear us yell and moved on to the next house.
Both Madison and Logan continued to be troopers. Madison was also having a hard time breathing, and Sherri was doing everything she could to keep her calm.
Logan decided to try using humor to break up the moment.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, buddy."
"I know this is not a good time to mention this, but...my foot is asleep."
Even though I know he could not see it, I smiled from ear to ear!
"I know it is buddy, but you're going to have to take one for the team."
"OK" he replied.
The rain continued to fall, and fall very hard. We did not know this until later, as we could not hear anything down there. It was still dark and very quiet.
We waited...and waited...and waited...
and then we heard sirens! They were a fantastic sound.
Within a few more minutes, we heard multiple voices on top of us.
"IS ANYONE DOWN THERE?"
All of us screamed at one time...
"YES, WE ARE HERE. WE'RE DOWN HERE!"
Sherri specifically yelled the following..
"BREAK DOWN THE DOOR! BREAK DOWN THE DOOR."
Looking back, that was the silliest thing to say - as we HAD no door. We had no roof, walls or doors. But we still thought the house was standing.
They must have heard us, as they yelled back - although it was barely audible.
"WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU OUT! THERE IS A LOT OF RUBBLE AND MATERIALS THAT WE HAVE TO MOVE. HANG TIGHT! THIS MAY TAKE SOME TIME."
and then...for the first time...I was truly scared. In fact, I was about to be the most scared I had been all morning.
And with good reason.
I was so scared because...
to be continued
In the interest of time, no photographs have been added to part four. This part is text only
It was hard to measure time. Seconds seemed like minutes, and minutes seemed like even longer.
We passed the time soothing each other, and telling the kids that the worst was over and all would be well.
And then the most incredible realization came to my wife - one that would significantly impact how the next 60 minutes would play out.
She yelled out, "MADISON! Give me your cell phone!"
Leave it to my beautiful fourteen year old daughter to have brought her cell phone downstairs with her - and she was still holding onto it.
Authors note: I have been notified by many people that I am no longer allowed to yell at my daughter for being attached to her cell phone.
Sherri dialed 911, and when they picked up, she spoke calmer than I have ever heard before. I was so impressed. This was a time of crisis, and no one would have blamed her for FREAKING OUT! But she did not. This is what I heard her say...
"Hello, my name is Sherri Blank. I live at 6229 Jonathans Way in the Pilgrims Rest subdivision. A tornado has hit our house and we are trapped in the basement. We are all fine, but we need someone to come and get us out."
(pause)
"Correct...no one is injured."
(pause)
"I'm not sure...my husband and I are both covering our kids, but we cannot move as stuff has fallen on us."
(pause)
"Madison, what is your phone number? (pause) It is 205-...-....."
(pause)
"They may have to break the door down as we are in the basement. Or they can break down our back door or a window. Tell them to come in however they need to!
(pause)
"OK, thank you!"
A sense of relief fell over me, and over the family as well. 911 had been called, and help was on the way.
In the past, whenever we lose power, I never call Alabama Power. I always assume that someone else from another household has called, and I don't like tying up the phone lines with requests from the same neighborhood.
However, I did not feel that same way now. I was glad we had a phone. I did not know if anyone else had called for help, so it was a good feeling to know that we were in the queue.
Now all we had to do was wait for the sirens.
To the best of my recollection, approximately 15 minutes has passed since the tornado hit us. It is crazy to think back and wonder why we did not call 911 right away. Of course, we were not thinking clearly. Madison did not mention her phone, and we were still too loopy right after to remember that she had one.
Sherri then had another idea. Since she was now in possession of a phone, it was time to call her mom.
Time: 4:20am. Situation: House fallen on us. Condition: Buried under rubble.
Yes, this is going to be a good idea. Let's call your mom. This is EXACTLY what she wants to hear when awoken from a sound sleep in the wee hours of the morning.
"Mom...are you awake?"
(pause)
"I have something to tell you, but I need you to remain calm and not freak out."
(pause)
"First of all, we are all OK. But the tornado has hit our house, and we are trapped in the basement. I need you and Dad to come over here and make sure they get us out."
(pause)
"No, we have already called 911. They are on the way and will be here soon. However, you need to come over and make sure the fire department knows which house we are in."
(pause)
"Mother, it's OK. We're OK. Just get Dad and come on over. Love you too. Bye."
In the meantime, Madison has a good friend of hers named LeAnn who lives one street over from us. She was lying in bed on the top floor of her house when the tornado ripped the roof off her house. She called Madison's phone. I believe Sherri answered and I could hear LeAnn screaming...
"THE ROOF WAS BLOWN OFF OUR HOUSE! OUR HOUSE HAS NO ROOF!"
Sherri responded...
"LeAnn, are you OK? Is everyone OK. Good. We are trapped in our basement and can't get out and have to keep this line open. She will have to call you back."
I still laugh at how calm Sherri was. It was such a funny back-and-forth. If it was me, I would have said this.
"LeAnn, I am sorry you have no roof. However, I am currently under hundreds of pounds of rubble, I have an intense cramp in my right leg, and I have to pee. Right now, rubble + cramp + pee trumps no roof, so we will have to get back with you."
Luckily, it was Sherri with the phone.
And so we continued to wait.
At one point, we heard someone yelling, "HELLO! IS ANYONE THERE?"
"WE'RE DOWN HERE! WE ARE ALL DOWN HERE!" all of us yelled. But that person did not respond.
We found out later that voice was most likely one of our neighbors who was checking on us. Remember, at the time, we had no idea how deep under the rubble we were, and so we were still surprised when we yelled back, and did not get a response. They did not hear us yell and moved on to the next house.
Both Madison and Logan continued to be troopers. Madison was also having a hard time breathing, and Sherri was doing everything she could to keep her calm.
Logan decided to try using humor to break up the moment.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, buddy."
"I know this is not a good time to mention this, but...my foot is asleep."
Even though I know he could not see it, I smiled from ear to ear!
"I know it is buddy, but you're going to have to take one for the team."
"OK" he replied.
The rain continued to fall, and fall very hard. We did not know this until later, as we could not hear anything down there. It was still dark and very quiet.
We waited...and waited...and waited...
and then we heard sirens! They were a fantastic sound.
Within a few more minutes, we heard multiple voices on top of us.
"IS ANYONE DOWN THERE?"
All of us screamed at one time...
"YES, WE ARE HERE. WE'RE DOWN HERE!"
Sherri specifically yelled the following..
"BREAK DOWN THE DOOR! BREAK DOWN THE DOOR."
Looking back, that was the silliest thing to say - as we HAD no door. We had no roof, walls or doors. But we still thought the house was standing.
They must have heard us, as they yelled back - although it was barely audible.
"WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU OUT! THERE IS A LOT OF RUBBLE AND MATERIALS THAT WE HAVE TO MOVE. HANG TIGHT! THIS MAY TAKE SOME TIME."
and then...for the first time...I was truly scared. In fact, I was about to be the most scared I had been all morning.
And with good reason.
I was so scared because...
to be continued
Leadership and You say TorNEIGHdo, I say TorNAHdo (Part 3)
This is part three in a multi part series...
The last 30 seconds of the tornado had not scared me at all...
It was the next five seconds after it hit that put a fear in the deepest part of my stomach.
How was my family?
I did not yell, but I spoke loudly and firmly.
"Is everyone all right? Sherri? Madison? Are you all right?"
...and I had a deep pain in my heart and a sudden fear in my soul as I waited for a response...
and then I heard the words that I was longing to hear!
"I'm alright", Sherri responded
Madison also responded in the affirmative.
Logan then said "I'm OK" as well.
"Is anyone hurt?" I asked. I was worried about broken legs, open cuts, cinder blocks to the head type injuries...
and everyone confirmed that they were all right, and that set me at peace.
Total peace.
I knew that things were bad. I knew I could not move. But I also knew that, for the moment, my family was OK.
Sherri began to sense worry among the kids, and she continued to reassure them through the darkness.
"It's all right, kids. It's all right. It's over. We all made it. Now we just have to relax and stay calm until they come to rescue us. But it's OK. We made it..."
She continued on with the same calming words. Those words, that were meant for our kids, also had a profound effect on me.
Everything was going to be OK.
My first reaction was to be the man of the house, and to get up, pull the walls off of us, and walk out. After all, that is what the men do.
I arched my back to lift the wall off of me.
No luck.
I tried a little harder and pushed with all my might.
Nothing budged.
I took a quick assessment of my situation. I was laying on top of my son on the couch. My legs were immoveable, and my right arm was also useless. It was wedged between the couch, my son, and the rubble. The only thing I could move was my left arm.
I reached around below me in a sweeping motion with my left arm, and it hit something hairy. Something hairy that was shaking uncontrollably.
It was our 90 pound yellow lab Lulabelle - and boy, was she shaking.
She was safely wedged under the coffee table, and although all I could feel were her hindquarters, I knew she was alive. Her continual shaking confirmed that.
In a way, I was pleased. It was a confirmation that we ALL made it. Honestly, when I thought I may have lost some of my family, the dog was the LAST thing that entered my mind.
But when I felt her still alive, I think I may have smiled.
"Sherri, can you move anything?" I asked.
"Only my right hand," she replied. She was in the same situation as me, with house and rubble piled on her and only use of one arm. At that moment, she reached out her right hand, and it brushed against my left hand.
We held those hands as tight as we could for a few moments. We did not say anything, but we knew what the words were...
Logan was laying face down on the couch, and his head was facing towards the back of the couch. Under his head was his pillow (remember, he had chosen to sleep in the basement, so he brought his pillow with him).
Our heads were touching each other. While I love my son unconditionally, it was very uncomfortable for both of us, but especially him. He was having a hard time getting fresh air.
"Hang on a second, buddy," I said. "Let me try something."
I reached up with my left hand and pulled his pillow out from under his head. It slipped down to the floor, and I felt his head pop down a few inches.
"Thank You!" he said with sincere passion.
He could now move his head from side to side, and he could turn it towards the center of the room. While our heads were still virtually touching, I was happy that he was more comfortable.
It was time to thank God for our safety. I am not exactly sure when I did this. It might have been earlier in the story, but I know it was not any later. I know that God protected us through the storm, and I wanted to make sure he knew how much we loved Him and appreciated Him.
Sherri was continuing her process of keeping the kids calm with her soothing words. I may have interrupted her as I said, "We need to say a prayer."
"Yes we do" Sherri stated.
And I led our family in a prayer. Although I can't remember word for word what I said, it revolved around thanksgiving for our lives and our lack of injuries, speed and safety for the rescue workers, patience for us, and other things.
A collective "Amen" resounded from the entire family.
All we could do now was wait.
Many of you who know me know that I use humor in just about every situation - and this was no exception.
You see, we had lived in Orlando for 13 years before moving up to Birmingham in 2007, and I grew up in Florida. I have lived through many hurricanes. One summer, Sherri and I experienced THREE hurricanes in three months. We always had this running joke that even if we did move to Alabama, the chances of getting hit by a tornado were much less than that of a hurricane.
There was a slight lull in the conversation, and I said, "Hey Sherri..."
"Yes honey?" she replied.
"This is MUCH better than hurricanes!"
We laughed out loud together. It was good to hear her laugh.
"How is your air?" I asked.
"We are OK. We can breathe."
While we were buried under the rubble, and we could not move, I still had not put two and two together. Later, when Sherri and I talked about this, she had the same thought.
And that thought was...
I can't believe the basement walls caved in on us...how strange that the house was still standing and the basement collapsed.
That is what I thought.
I had NO idea that the entire two upper floors of our home was now mostly a pile of rubble on top of us. In my mind, our home was still standing.
And then I got excited - as this meant we would get a new front door!
Our front door was completed made of wood, and was about 14 years old. It needed to be sanded and re-stained, but even more concerning was the two holes that were in it.
Those silly bees that bore into wood had done a number on our front door. It was almost as if there were two new peepholes in the door.
I thought...When the fire department arrives to rescue us, they will have to break down the front door to get in...and we will get a new front door!
Time for some more levity.
"Sherri!"
"What?" she replied.
"Looks like we might get that new front door after all!"
We both laughed again together.
It was hard to measure time. Seconds seemed like minutes, and minutes seemed like even longer.
We passed the time soothing each other, and telling the kids that the worst was over and all would be well.
And then the most incredible realization came to my wife - one that would significantly impact how the next 60 minutes would play out.
She yelled out, "..."
to be continued...
The last 30 seconds of the tornado had not scared me at all...
It was the next five seconds after it hit that put a fear in the deepest part of my stomach.
How was my family?
I did not yell, but I spoke loudly and firmly.
"Is everyone all right? Sherri? Madison? Are you all right?"
...and I had a deep pain in my heart and a sudden fear in my soul as I waited for a response...
and then I heard the words that I was longing to hear!
"I'm alright", Sherri responded
Madison also responded in the affirmative.
Logan then said "I'm OK" as well.
"Is anyone hurt?" I asked. I was worried about broken legs, open cuts, cinder blocks to the head type injuries...
and everyone confirmed that they were all right, and that set me at peace.
Total peace.
I knew that things were bad. I knew I could not move. But I also knew that, for the moment, my family was OK.
Sherri began to sense worry among the kids, and she continued to reassure them through the darkness.
"It's all right, kids. It's all right. It's over. We all made it. Now we just have to relax and stay calm until they come to rescue us. But it's OK. We made it..."
She continued on with the same calming words. Those words, that were meant for our kids, also had a profound effect on me.
Everything was going to be OK.
My first reaction was to be the man of the house, and to get up, pull the walls off of us, and walk out. After all, that is what the men do.
I arched my back to lift the wall off of me.
No luck.
I tried a little harder and pushed with all my might.
Nothing budged.
I took a quick assessment of my situation. I was laying on top of my son on the couch. My legs were immoveable, and my right arm was also useless. It was wedged between the couch, my son, and the rubble. The only thing I could move was my left arm.
I reached around below me in a sweeping motion with my left arm, and it hit something hairy. Something hairy that was shaking uncontrollably. It was our 90 pound yellow lab Lulabelle - and boy, was she shaking.
She was safely wedged under the coffee table, and although all I could feel were her hindquarters, I knew she was alive. Her continual shaking confirmed that.
In a way, I was pleased. It was a confirmation that we ALL made it. Honestly, when I thought I may have lost some of my family, the dog was the LAST thing that entered my mind.
But when I felt her still alive, I think I may have smiled.
"Sherri, can you move anything?" I asked.
"Only my right hand," she replied. She was in the same situation as me, with house and rubble piled on her and only use of one arm. At that moment, she reached out her right hand, and it brushed against my left hand.
We held those hands as tight as we could for a few moments. We did not say anything, but we knew what the words were...
Logan was laying face down on the couch, and his head was facing towards the back of the couch. Under his head was his pillow (remember, he had chosen to sleep in the basement, so he brought his pillow with him).
Our heads were touching each other. While I love my son unconditionally, it was very uncomfortable for both of us, but especially him. He was having a hard time getting fresh air.
"Hang on a second, buddy," I said. "Let me try something."
I reached up with my left hand and pulled his pillow out from under his head. It slipped down to the floor, and I felt his head pop down a few inches.
"Thank You!" he said with sincere passion.
He could now move his head from side to side, and he could turn it towards the center of the room. While our heads were still virtually touching, I was happy that he was more comfortable.
It was time to thank God for our safety. I am not exactly sure when I did this. It might have been earlier in the story, but I know it was not any later. I know that God protected us through the storm, and I wanted to make sure he knew how much we loved Him and appreciated Him.
Sherri was continuing her process of keeping the kids calm with her soothing words. I may have interrupted her as I said, "We need to say a prayer."
"Yes we do" Sherri stated.
And I led our family in a prayer. Although I can't remember word for word what I said, it revolved around thanksgiving for our lives and our lack of injuries, speed and safety for the rescue workers, patience for us, and other things.
A collective "Amen" resounded from the entire family.
All we could do now was wait.
Many of you who know me know that I use humor in just about every situation - and this was no exception.
You see, we had lived in Orlando for 13 years before moving up to Birmingham in 2007, and I grew up in Florida. I have lived through many hurricanes. One summer, Sherri and I experienced THREE hurricanes in three months. We always had this running joke that even if we did move to Alabama, the chances of getting hit by a tornado were much less than that of a hurricane.
There was a slight lull in the conversation, and I said, "Hey Sherri..."
"Yes honey?" she replied.
"This is MUCH better than hurricanes!"
We laughed out loud together. It was good to hear her laugh.
"How is your air?" I asked.
"We are OK. We can breathe."
While we were buried under the rubble, and we could not move, I still had not put two and two together. Later, when Sherri and I talked about this, she had the same thought.
And that thought was...
I can't believe the basement walls caved in on us...how strange that the house was still standing and the basement collapsed.
That is what I thought.
I had NO idea that the entire two upper floors of our home was now mostly a pile of rubble on top of us. In my mind, our home was still standing.
And then I got excited - as this meant we would get a new front door!
Our front door was completed made of wood, and was about 14 years old. It needed to be sanded and re-stained, but even more concerning was the two holes that were in it.Those silly bees that bore into wood had done a number on our front door. It was almost as if there were two new peepholes in the door.
I thought...When the fire department arrives to rescue us, they will have to break down the front door to get in...and we will get a new front door!
Time for some more levity.
"Sherri!"
"What?" she replied.
"Looks like we might get that new front door after all!"
We both laughed again together.
It was hard to measure time. Seconds seemed like minutes, and minutes seemed like even longer.
We passed the time soothing each other, and telling the kids that the worst was over and all would be well.
And then the most incredible realization came to my wife - one that would significantly impact how the next 60 minutes would play out.
She yelled out, "..."
to be continued...
