We are Tennesseans and This Is Tennessee

#1

rexvol

The Minister of Defense
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#1
THIS IS TENNESSEE
VOLUNTEERS ADD NEW CHAPTER TO STORIED HISTORY

by Brent High

On May 1st and 2nd of 2010 a historic amount of rain, as much as 17 inches, fell on middle Tennessee and the city of Nashville in less than 48 hours. Historians are using terms like “thousand year flood” to describe what took place here. The Cumberland River, Nashville’s main waterway, crested at just over 51 feet, flooding iconic structures including the Grand Ole Opry, LP Field and Bridgestone Arena where the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators play, Country Music Hall of Fame and the Opryland Hotel and Convention Center. The water rose so much, so fast and in places water has never been seen that thousands had to be rescued by boat. Dozens lost their lives. Thousands of homeowners lost everything they had. Thousands more are now trying to salvage what’s left. Most had no flood insurance because before May 1st they didn’t need it where they lived. Early estimates are that the damage will top $1 billion and this storm will go down as the most devastating non-hurricane event in American history.

This is Tennessee.

It’s Monday, May 3rd. The rain has stopped, finally. What happens next shouldn’t come as a surprise. Almost instinctively, after a long night of restlessness, volunteers spring into action. It’s in their blood. They’ve been trained to do so by their parents and grandparents. From Waverly to Cookeville, Winchester to Cross Plains and in the capital city of Nashville the sights and sounds are the same.

Without being asked, fishermen launch their boats into the muddy soup, joining the rescue efforts. Business owners and supervisors tell their employees to take the day off and jump in and help wherever they can. Neighbors, many of whom helped empty entire houses in brigade fashion the night before, transition into cleanup mode. Sump pumps and generators whirr. Drywall, carpet and ruined floors are ripped out. Elderly ladies gather at the church to make lunches for workers. Teenagers distribute bottled water. Pickup trucks, trailers and storage units are loaded with what could be salvaged. Photos and documents are spread out in the sun to dry. Wads of $20 bills are slid into pockets of those affected. Checks are written. Hugs are given. Prayers are said. Tears are shed.

This is Tennessee.

Almost 200 years ago Tennessee first earned the nickname “Volunteer State.” In 1812 More than 2,000 Tennesseans volunteered to fight for Andrew Jackson and were the main part of Jackson’s army that destroyed the British three years later in the Battle of New Orleans. A generation later the U. S. Secretary of War asked Tennessee for 2,800 soldiers to fight a war against Mexico. 30,000 volunteered.

This is a state where faith comes first. We don’t ask why. We know there is a reason and look forward to it being revealed. We are guided by scriptures such as Philippians 2:3-5 which says:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus.”

Family is a focus, not an afterthought. Don’t bother trying to do business with us the week of Christmas or July 4th. We’ll be with family. When our kids have a school play we will be there. We throw big birthday parties. We teach our kids right from wrong and aren’t afraid to give them a whippin’ when they need it.

Here we say “Yes ma’am” and “No ma’am.” We try to leave a place better than we found it. We put our hand over our heart when the national anthem is played. We pull over on the side of the road when funeral processions pass on the other side.

We are savvy business people. We are farmers. We are teachers.

We drink Coke here. We like gravy with our biscuits and potatoes.

We are serious about our sports. We keep score in little league and we still have all-star teams and MVP trophies.

We are givers.

You won’t hear us wailing about where the federal government and insurance companies were in all of this. We’ll get by just fine without them.

Right now we have a lot to deal with here in our backyard. We will handle it with dignity and class. We will sacrifice for each other in ways that are unfathomable to most. We will stand together. We will stand tall. We will come out of this stronger than we were before it.

One day in the not too distant future a hurricane, tornado, fire, flood or other unspeakable disaster will strike your community. As you struggle to put the pieces back together we will be there.

We will volunteer.

We are Tennesseans.

This is Tennessee.
 
#4
#4
Nice piece, and I know the writer, he is a very good person.
 
#6
#6
The national news hasn't focused on this disaster like they should be. If it weren't for friends in the Nashville area, and keeping up with local news, I probably wouldn't know about it because of the lack of coverage out here.
 
#8
#8
The national news hasn't focused on this disaster like they should be. If it weren't for friends in the Nashville area, and keeping up with local news, I probably wouldn't know about it because of the lack of coverage out here.

Lack of coverage? This is just incorrect. The national news you're watching must be the Colbert Report or MTV News because images/stories about it have been on CNN/Fox News/ MSNBC all freaking week.
 
#12
#12
Lack of coverage? This is just incorrect. The national news you're watching must be the Colbert Report or MTV News because images/stories about it have been on CNN/Fox News/ MSNBC all freaking week.

I would have to disagree. I didn't see anything about it on the national media until yesterday, not complaining just saying. They do have reason I guess, with what was going on in NYC and the oil spill in the Gulf. CNN's Anderson Cooper even admitted that they dropped the ball on covering what was going on there and will be broadcasting his show live from Nashville tonight.
 
#16
#16
I'm not a Tennessee native, but wish I was. This is one of the many reasons why. Amazing people.
 
#17
#17
I've wanted to live in Tennessee my whole life.
Luckily I live in N.Ga so it isn't hard for me to drive up there as often as I can!
When I get my teaching degree I plan to join those amazing people!
 
#18
#18
Lack of coverage? This is just incorrect. The national news you're watching must be the Colbert Report or MTV News because images/stories about it have been on CNN/Fox News/ MSNBC all freaking week.

Wrong. I go to college in Arkansas and the only reason I knew about the flooding is from what family told me and the very few stories on the news. The National Media did not cover this like they should have. Period. I know there was a lot going on elsewhere but I only saw it start to get major coverage today.
 
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#19
#19
I've wanted to live in Tennessee my whole life.
Luckily I live in N.Ga so it isn't hard for me to drive up there as often as I can!
When I get my teaching degree I plan to join those amazing people!

TN born and raised but I am out here in Oregon on military orders for the next 3 years and its hard being away. Especially right now, I want to be there helping everybody.
 
#20
#20
the nashville emergency management teams made 600+ rescues the first night of the storm. i havent heard how many total but that shows just how dedicated to service the people of this great state really are. i am proud to say i am from middle tennessee.
 
#23
#23
Lack of coverage? This is just incorrect. The national news you're watching must be the Colbert Report or MTV News because images/stories about it have been on CNN/Fox News/ MSNBC all freaking week.

As a Colbert Report fan I resent this comment. He did a nice two minute feature on a guy wake boarding in the flood waters.
 
#24
#24
The gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Everett] talks of summing up the merits of the question, but I’ll sum up my own. In one word I’m a screamer, and have got the roughest racking horse, the prettiest sister, the surest rifle and the ugliest dog in the district. I’m a leetle the savagest crittur you ever did see. My father can whip any man in Kentucky, and I can lick my father. I can outspeak any man on this floor, and give him two hours start. I can run faster, dive deeper, stay longer under, and come out drier, than any chap this side the big Swamp. I can outlook a panther and outstare a flash of lightning, tote a steamboat on my back and play at rough and tumble with a lion, and an occasional kick from a zebra.

Davy crockett.

Even back then Tennessans were beating up on Kentucky
 
#25
#25
As a Colbert Report fan I resent this comment. He did a nice two minute feature on a guy wake boarding in the flood waters.

And that is pretty much the most coverage this whole thing has gotten from anyone
 

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