Destruction, everywhere.

While here in Chicago we're facing crazy snow, friends and family in Tennessee have had a really life altering encounter with the weather.

Macon County in Middle Tennessee, was especially hard hit. Lafayette (luh-Fay-it), TN, home to my close friend and college roommate Christy and her sister Holly, was nearly obliterated. Her parents are fine, but entire portions of the town are gone, and her father and his colleagues who work at the funeral home are inundated and overwhelmed. The death numbers you see on the Internet are actually considerably larger than is being reported right now.

There was a gas plant that was hit by a tornado, resulting in 400 ft flames that were seen for miles. There is no electricity, and a severely damaged infrastructure.

Here are some pictures.


Prayers are appreciated and much needed for all those being negatively impacted by the tornadoes.

In the words of one person from Lafayette:

"But for the grace of God go I..." I am a resident of Macon County. My family home is approx. 6 miles from Columbia Gulf Gas and 4 miles from Akersville road in Lafayette where the most massive destruction occurred. As my children huddled in the pantry, my husband and I watched from the front window as the gas company exploded illuminating the night sky. Through the light from the fire, we were able to see the wall cloud and rotation just above our home. As we took shelter with our children, we were certain that there would be massive destruction. Thank God we were spared. Please remember the families that have lost homes and loved ones. Lafayette is a very small, close knit community filled with wonderful families. A loss of 10 lives here is like losing hundreds of lives in a larger city. The impact of this storm has been devastating and it will take many years to rebuild and many more to heal.