Making a Difference

Are you looking for a job where you can make a difference in someone’s life? As my by line states "I live in the shadow of Redstone Arsenal" that's in Huntsville AL. Ground Zero for several tornadoes that struck the area Wednesday April 27. My family and I are safe and our house made it through unscathed... I wish I could say the same for many other families throughout Alabama. The devastation is indescribable. I typed this on an iPad that we rotated into the car to charge along with our cellphones and other 'critical' electronics. We got news and updates through various friends, local stations, and web news via Blue-tooth connection through 3G phones. That's right... We were in crisis mode!

Step 2, right after ensuring we had food and water, was reestablishing connection to the web. Much like a Signal Officer, my husband made it his duty to make sure we stayed connected. We listened to local weather stations, police scanners, and other reports tracking the storm long after our power went out. Over the scanner we heard one unconfirmed report of a tornado on the ground right up the street from us. After spending a while in the inner hall closet we emerged to a quieting storm.

Now in the aftermath, staying connected is just as important. We found ice, gas, potential shelters, and even some Good Samaritan companies giving away products to help the victims of the storm. I'll give one quick kudos to the Wal-Mart at 11610 Memorial Parkway, who was giving away a bag of ice, loaf of bread, jar of peanut butter, and a bottle of juice to anyone who showed up looking for supplies. Also important, is connecting with worried friends and family. Phone calls are great, but with everyone trying to touch base, the cell network bogged down and reception was spotty at best. One quick post/tweet managed to confirm our safety to 90% of our friends and family. Sure, I had to hit the send button multiple times before it went through, but was still a huge saving on the over taxed cellular bandwidth.

Now, as we start to ease out of crisis mode, resources can be used for less critical things like blogging, games, and reading. I see that President Obama came to Alabama to view the destruction and meet with some victims. We all hope that he has plans to help. Some assistance from the Army National Guard and/or Army Core of Engineers is already in underway. The main thing we all want is power. Surely there are plenty of jobs in the Army under the direction of the Commander and Chief that could help get us back to normal, pronto! Apart from the few companies that rose to the occasion the Army National Guard is here like always, ready at a moment’s notice to lend a helping hand.

E-Mom has been married to a professional geek for 10 years with one geek in training. We live in the shadow of Redstone Arsenal, the birthplace of NASA.