• From experience, it takes time to heal from disaster

  • It will take years to repair Hurricane Sandy's damage in New York and New Jersey.
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    My heart aches especially for children in disaster zones because I was young when I learned that natural powers in this world can, in an instant, erase safety, comfort and security. It's an unsettling reality at any age, but a new concept for most youth.
    In the heart of hog and corn country, Kossuth County, Iowa, saw 17 tornados during my childhood. None were greater than the twister of June 28, 1979, when an F3 tornado destroyed much of my hometown, Algona, injuring 34 and killing two.
    My brother was collecting payments on his paper route when tornado sirens warning residents to take cover started screaming.
    My dad drove to pick him up from the route. They burst into our house just in time. Dad urged us to get into the basement.
    They say a tornado sounds like a freight train, but we didn't hear a thing when the oak tree that supported my tire swing crashed several feet from our heads, nor did we hear the house lift off the ground and set down just slightly crooked on the foundation, leaving cracks in the walls.
    Tornados drag along the ground, destroying everything they touch, then bounce up and down, leaving a cruel, random path of debris.
    We walked around town, reeling from the sight of house after house splintered into piles of rubble, multiple cars thrown into houses, crying neighbors sifting through the remains of their once-perfect homes.
    The outer walls had been ripped off some homes, exposing the guts of inner rooms to gawkers on the street. Others had nothing but a door left on the foundation.
    The Red Cross and Iowa National Guard arrived before nightfall. I was glad, and kind of amazed, that they were there.
    My world was unrecognizable and I was afraid of what disaster could happen next. I cried myself to sleep.
    Some, who lost the upper levels of their homes, put tarps on the exposed main floor and slept in their intact basements.
    The folks in Algona rebuilt. But it is never the same. Years after new walls are built and plush carpet is installed, talk of the storm brings victims who lost everything to tears.
    Sandy's victims will need support for a long time. Who better to provide swinging hammers and a shoulder to cry on than their neighbors in the Pocono area? No doubt, some have already made a drive to clear debris and deliver a tank of gas.
    Let us continue to help our neighbors for as long as it takes. Because children see that kindness too, and they learn life will go on and can be great again because someone cares enough to get their hands dirty for you.
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