Tornado

Living in a small community has many benefits. You may become more aware of the benefits it has once a tragedy strikes. I wake up, April 18, 2011, and put on my old work clothes. This is the day the students of Ridge View and surrounding schools would be let out of school to help the tornado victims of Early and Nemaha. Many homes and fields were destroyed by the tornadoes that had hit just one week earlier. I was happy to not only get out of school for the day, but to also show my love and support for the community as well. My group and I were first assigned to clean up in and along a river that was full of wood, tin, and trash. I crawled down into the river right along with my classmates, cooperating and working together, to get the job done. I’d lend a hand to somebody to reach deeper into the river, and they’d do the same for me. We figured out ways to make the cleaning easy and fun. As lunch time rolled around we made our way to the Nemaha fire station to eat. I was really surprised when I saw so many volunteers and the amount of food that they had prepared. I had forgotten that not only did we need helpers cleaning up the tornado destruction, but we also needed them for the food, driving, and organizing the event as well. When we finished lunch and got back to work, we were assigned a new duty. I was to help pick up all the large twigs and create one giant pile to eventually burn. After we had done that, we were to rake the destroyed yard. At this point I felt dirty and tired. All I could think about was going home, showering, and taking a long nap in my comfortable bed. It was then that I took a moment to look at the place and people around me. These people didn’t even have their whole house still standing, and here I am dreaming about getting home to all my luxuries. I knew that if my family were in their position, I would want help from others too. This motivated me to want to work harder until our job was done. While