Life around these parts...(in pics)

This is where I was today.  Hell, living (mostly) hell.

All of the houses have a spray painted X on the front door.  If there is no door (which there is not on most) it is on a tree or a piece of wood.

 See the X in the pic above?  It has a number on top, that is the number of people said to be living in the house.  The right and left are to notify if they have been given water or if they are in need of oxygen.  The bottom is the number of dead found.  I saw too many that didn't say 0.  If a person has been found there is a red flag staked out front.  I saw too many of those.

 Look at the trees, if they aren't snapped they are bent at a permanent 90 degree angle

 That red flag is proof, proof that there is a body under that orange sleeping bag.  A body that was pulled from the tree a few feet away.

I don't want to overload you, I just want you to know that I could hardly hold my stomach acid in.  I want you to know that there are bodies covered by sleeping bags and speared by tree limbs, still in the trees.  I want you to know that there are dogs, dogs trained to find bodies, "cadaver dogs" roaming the streets.  Along with all of these people, just smelling the smells, looking for their belongings, realizing how bad it is.  

 Can you imagine a force strong enough to do this to STEEL POWER POLES?  It is air, it is what we breath, it is ridiculous.  (sorry i had to tag all the photos cause they have been stolen all over twitter)

 Seen too many times today were the empty baby strollers, cribs, and abandoned children's toys scattered about.  Yeah, that is a double stroller below...I want to know those babies are o.k.

 You see a house undamaged on one street, and this on the next.  You can see for miles in a neighborhood that was totally covered by trees.

Please guys, please.  Donate what you can.  Money, food, your time.  Get with an organization and help.  The National Guard is restricting ANY access areas to these places as they HAVE to run the dogs through without distractions so PLEASE don't just try to go here to see these things.  Go here with certified people to help.  We physically had to have a police escort in today.  That is not the good "VIP" feeling either.  Take care folks, hug your babies a little tighter, kiss your husbands a little longer (& momma's & daddy's.)  Cause after all, it is not about "how lucky we are"  it is about how saddening it is to see this.  I know I am lucky, I knew that last week, now I know how quickly things can change.  In an instant ya'll, literally an instant.  

American Red Cross

Pleasant Grove Relief Facebook Page

Toomers for Tuscaloosa