Personal history

I recently found a 50 yr old manila envelope which had newspapers, photos, a police pass and my mother's 10 page story about the F5 tornado we went through when I was 3. We were 300 ft from the center of the slow moving beast, and it helps me understand why being in post-Katrina Louisiana and Mississippi was so overwhelming to me (beyond the fact that there was massive damage I mean). It also helps make sense of a few childhood "almost" memories, like why the friends across the street had soggy carpet in their house. None of our family died or was severely injured, but it was quite something and seems to have affected me in my adulthood.

Right after the winds passed, many many many people came to help along the path of destruction. Disasters seem to bring out the best in most people. For those interested in reading more about this tornado, there is a 50 yr anniversary collection of stories, pictures, videos, news articles, online at these 2 links. Here
Here