I was two weeks shy of my 14th birthday when Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast. The day before, August 28, 2005, my family loaded up and got out of town. I was in the backseat with two smelly dogs while my mom and sister rotated driving duty. It took 15 hours to get to Birmingham, Alabama, from New Orleans, a drive that normally takes less than five.
We watched the news the next few days as our city was destroyed. We ended up relocating to Dallas for the school year, and I was sleeping on a motel couch for a good month before we found a place to live. It was an experience I'll never forget.
Yet, I can tell you that we still got off easy compared to many others. Our home avoided damage, we didn't lose any loved ones nor did we lose our own lives. Still, all of this is to say I understand what it's like when disaster strikes your home. I know the pain and challenging process that comes with such devastation.
I also know all the good that will eventually follow.
I had the day off last Monday, so I used it to go out to Perryton to help with cleanup after they were hit by a Tornado the week prior. Just as when I was a boy, I saw the massive destruction of buildings, trees littered everywhere, people in tears wondering what would happen next and far more people trying to help, but unsure of how to do it. In all those ways, it was as sad as whenever these sort of things happen.
I saw something else, though, too. I saw a community united together.
A year after Katrina, the Saints hosted the Falcons on Monday Night Football. Steve Gleason's blocked punt on the first possession of the game sent the crowd, city and region into a jovial frenzy. Many back home have credited it as a moment that New Orleans truly began to heal.
Perryton doesn't have a pro sports team, but what's being seen from the Perryton High School athletic programs is nothing short of inspirational. It was a summer of rebuilding for the Rangers before the tornado struck as they brought in a new head football coach/athletic director, new volleyball coach, new boys and girls basketball coaches, a new softball coach and are in the process of bringing on a new baseball coach.
Now, the recovery efforts are partially being led by two of those new coaches.
While Cole Underwood has lived in Perryton and been a coach on the football team for sometime, he was just promoted to the head job officially on May 25. That hasn't stopped him from leading the charge in the rebuilding process.
“Thursday night when the tornado hit I sent a text out to all of our coaches that we were going to open the gyms," Underwood said. "We didn’t have power or anything so it was a big team effort. Our coaching staff really stepped up and got the ball rolling. I’ve got to give all the credit to them for helping me get this thing going.”
The secondary gym at the school is being used as a supply depot with canned goods, prepackaged foods, diapers, baby supplies, bug spray and all sort of other materials ready to go. The main gym is being used as a shelter at night for the Red Cross with cots set up. The volunteer resource center is in the cafeteria with local and state officials gathering there each morning to update one another on progress.
Shaun Lynch is the new volleyball coach at Perryton and he and his wife just moved to town from Canada a few weeks ago. Lynch still understands the gravity of the situation and has helped in organizational efforts to get the Rangerettes involved in the process.
That's another thing. The kids are getting involved, too.
"(The volleyball team is) canceling all of the rest of their summer league operations and donating all of the money they’ve raised to the relief fund," Underwood said. "Our boys basketball team is doing the same. Our summer workouts are suspended until further notice just so we can continue to help our community to rebuild.”
You can't go through Perryton right now without seeing church groups, organizations, volunteers from all across the state and even the country helping out. Borger, Booker, Pampa, Dallas, Fort Worth. These were just some of the communities present last week unified to help with the cleanup effort.
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None of those people asked anyone else what race they were, what religion they practiced, who they loved or who they voted for in the last election. The only question anyone asked was, "How can I help?"
It was all that mattered to them.
Events like this are always tragic. Three people are dead, two others missing and there are dozens injured. It may be six weeks before the gas is turned back on, City Hall is operating out of an unrented office building, and who knows how many people are without homes or jobs as a result of this disaster. It's as heartbreaking as any of these events are.
At the same time, Underwood noted himself that events like this tend to bring people together. The effort that students, adults, former residents, strangers and the like are putting up is already notable. Water is up and running, power is nearly fully restored, all across town clean up and meal delivery is taking place. All in a town with a little more than 8,000 people in it.
That is the power of what events like this can do.
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Katrina was the worst natural disaster in American history. It was one of the most painful events of my life. However, the unity and resiliency I saw from my people at such a young age has helped me form the optimistic and positive outlook I have in life. It's helped shape my worldview and it showed me that for all the destruction and terror in this world, there will always be light, love and good there to lead us through it.
The same is true of Perryton. This community will never be the same after what happened and that is a horrific reality. One thing they can take solace in, though, is that they are there for each other. The rest of the Panhandle has their back. Even in these dark times, there is still a level of certainty that they will get through this.
The journey will be long, but they will get through this. The process will take months, if not years, but they will get through this. Underwood, Lynch and the rest of the community will make sure that they will get through this. All those across the area and the state are doing their part to ensure that the people of Perryton knows they will get through this.
And if you're from Perryton, I want you to know as someone who has been there before, you will get through this.
