Seriously. Sometimes I wonder if it would matter if I never posted another word to this b**g. After all, it's entirely virtual, right? But then a bunch of y'all watch the news and hear that a piece of my little burg got blown to Kansas and there you come checkin' in on me to see if I'm okay. I *heart* you all for that. Maybe Hoss's buddy Bill G ain't too bad after all if he can hook us all up as cyberfriends and keep us accountable.

Heather's grandmother's body was found last night. She was told that dental records and DNA testing would be required for identification. The ferocity of this particular storm has taken many by surprise, even the seasoned storm chasers. Governor Bredesen toured the area by helicopter today and said " I've never seen anything like it..." He has asked Dubya to declare Dyer and Gibson counties as a federal disaster area. Our local newspaper, which normally has two or three obituaries, was filled with death announcements for the sixteen people killed in our county. There are only three local funeral homes so it will take some time to arrange all of that. The temporary morgue was put in the building that houses the ambulance service at the hospital where I work. In Caruthersville MO, across the Mississippi River, the destruction to property was even worse than in Dyer County, but the death toll was much lower.

The Memphis TV stations are giving The War on Terror and the Ford family shenanigans a break and filming daily footage of people digging through rubble looking for something to hold on to from life as they knew it. It is a difficult time in a tiny little corner of an America that already has plenty of problems. And so it goes. Politicians file that under "too bad."

In appreciation, from me and Heather, here's a flower for you. Keep the faith. ^j^