A Glimpse of Tragedy

As I child, I lived in the most perfect subdivision of our town. My house was dead-center of the subdivision, which made my family the center of attention most days. (Everyone loved my crazy & fun dad! He still is a bigger kid that I ever was!) Our subdivision had about 20 houses in it, and almost every house had two or three kids my age. I went to school with all these kids. Many of them were in my classes all the way through high school.

The subdivision was picture perfect. Every lawn was always perfectly manicured. Everyone was growing vegetables in their individual gardens. Every other house had a swimming pool. You never locked your doors at night. We played at each others' houses growing up. We had hide-n-seek across the neighborhood. My neighbors' parents were my parents, too. Everyone in the neighborhood knew your business and took care of you. It was a huge family!

Did I mention we were perfectly situated adjacent to a lake and wooded area. I can remember camping out by the lake each summer. It was beautiful!

Life was perfect!

Fast forward to just after Christmas of 2008...

In the middle of the night there was a loud rumbling. Suddenly, there was a tidal wave of mud, ash, and water headed right for your house...your neighborhood...you! This wave picked up your house and carried it across the street into the neighbor's yard. Your car was mangled and destroyed. The landscape, as you knew it, was no more!

What happened?

In the middle of the night, a earthen-retention wall gave way and let loose millions of gallons of mud, ash, and water from the retention pond located at the TVA Steam Plant, in Kingston, TN. 

TVA is the acronym for the Tennessee Valley Authority. The TVA originated from the public works program instituted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. The TVA is the largest producer of electricity in the south. They provide electricity for all of Tennessee, all the surrounding states, and beyond. TVA manages all of the dams, steam plants, and nuclear plants in the state. 

The failing of the retention wall, and the onslaught of millions of gallons of polluted water changed the world in the area near the Steam Plant. Roads were wiped out, houses destroyed, rail road tracks mangled, and water in places where it had never been before. Miraculously, no one was killed in this incident. That, in itself, was a miracle. 

I look back now and really count our blessings. My father was a heavy-equipment operator for the Steam Plant. He helped build and maintain this earthen-wall. Many times he would have said heavy equipment on top of that wall. I can tell you that one time the machine he was in (most likely a bull-dozer) went off the edge of that wall and into the water. He was stuck in that machine under the water. Luckily he was able to break the glass and escape. But, what if he had been on that wall the day it gave way? I shudder at the thought of it!

My family is lucky. We moved out of that subdivision a few years ago. However, so many of the families I grew up with were still there. I can tell you that even two years later, the area is not the same. It looks so much more like an industrial work zone instead of the beautiful lake-side neighborhoods we all loved and knew. It is extremely saddening to think about it. 

One of the greatest tragedies that has occurred is that the family that have moved away have lost touch with the families they were connected to for so many years. One of my best friends, Callie, and her family have moved to the other side of the state following this incident. I never get to see them anymore. It is sad. 

Just a thought for the day!