Twister

It's now been a few months since the tornado went through our neighborhood. Most of the damaged homes down the street have been torn down, or are in some sort of state of repair. But there are a few that, for whatever reason, have been left untouched. They remain standing just as they were after the storm passed through. Massive holes in the walls reveal glimpses into stranger's homes, like clothes still hanging in the closets. Sheets still on a bed that will never be slept on again. Who knows why some houses are still left untouched? Disputes with insurance companies, I guess.

Of course the tornado left a long path of destruction that day. It passed through Little Rock, then crossed the river and went into North Little Rock. It took down thousands of trees in Burns Park, then passed through the neighborhoods of Amboy and Indian Hills. From there it went through Sherwood and then Jacksonville.

I grew up in the neighborhood of Indian Hills, which saw many homes get destroyed by the storm. The tornado actually went just a block away from the house I used to live in for about 20 years. I hadn't had a chance to drive through the old neighborhood since the storm, but I was recently in that part of town and decided to pay it a visit. It was shocking, of course, to see so many houses destroyed. Just like our neighborhood, there were houses under repair, and one that had already been rebuilt. But also, sadly, a few houses that were also untouched. They had massive holes in the roof, with so many questions remaining about what happened to the people who once lived there.

As I was heading home, I passed by this church that had been hit by the tornado.



The damage was so great that most of the building was torn down. But it's so striking to see the small details of what still remains. The steeple, crooked and leaning. Ceiling tiles still hanging over what was once the sanctuary, along with a few light fixtures. It's now been a few months since the tornado, but who knows how long it will take to fully recover?