Last month, on the night of October 21st, nine tornados touched down in, or very closely around, the Dallas side of the DFW Metroplex.
Thankfully, no one was killed, but many were left with minor injuries, and came out of their shelter areas to discover that their homes or businesses had been absolutely destroyed.
My own home, and the homes of my teammates here at Oberg and Associates, were thankfully untouched. The closest we got was that one of our teammates was able to take video of one of the tornados in the distance.
But, from all this carnage, a story did come out that got me thinking:
That night, on October 21st, after the danger had passed, Dallas Stars Captain Jamie Benn made a call to Stars goalie Ben Bishop to make sure he was okay. He knew that Bishop’s house was right in the path of the storm.
When he got Bishop on the phone, they had a very, very brief conversation, in which Bishop said he and his family were okay, but that the tornado had passed two streets over and thrown debris into their home. Windows were broken and the roof was badly damaged.
Then, Bishop’s phone died, and the power was out in the neighborhood.
45 minutes later, there was a knock on Bishop’s front door. It was Benn, who was there to check on his teammate in person, and ended up taking Bishop and his family to his own house for the night.
Bishop only got to Dallas two seasons ago. So, he and Benn haven’t been teammates that long, all things considered. But Benn felt such an obligation, such empathy for his teammate, that he went out to navigate a hellish maze of damage and first responders in the pitch black night (remember, power was out for the whole area, so no street lights, no house lights, nothing) to make sure his teammate was safe.
It got me thinking about who from my own life would be so willing to fight through such conditions to make sure I was okay and had a place to stay.
It doesn’t make sense to create a list of those people here, but the more I thought about it, the more thankful it has made me for the deep relationships I have in my life.
I know it’s extremely cliché this time of year to write an article about how thankful we are for our family and friends, (I’ve even done it a few times!), but events like that night back in October put it all into perspective.
It is an absolute miracle that no one was killed that night.
Because of the soil we have, the underground storm shelters and basements that other parts of Tornado Alley have to protect themselves from events like this just don’t exist in Dallas.
In addition to that, after an event like this, you see people come together. Teresa talked about it in the wake of an event like 9/11, but it happens after a natural disaster like this too.
Neighbors check in on their neighbors and help them clear the debris. They give them a place to stay if there’s extensive damage. Coworkers make accommodations to help each other out. Families pull together.
So, I guess that’s what I’m thankful for in 2019. Not that tornados happened, but that after the storm dwindled, the people of Dallas came together to help each other out and begin to rebuild.
I’m thankful for the knowledge that if it had been my home that had been damaged or destroyed, my community, friends, coworkers and family would have supported me, and helped me rebuild.
They would have helped me to Stay Strong.
Happy Almost Thanksgiving!
Outside the Box 