Moving on...?

I don't know why, but I have been asked to write a weekly column for the News and Tribune, a local paper here in southern Indiana.  Why would anyone want to read what I have to say?  I have asked that over and over and have found that some people have reached out when I have written on my blog.  My blog was started by me a few years ago so that I could vent some frustration and really to share my life publicly for me.  I know that sounds like a contradiction, but I never thought in a million years that anyone would read it, maybe coming across it on stumbleupon.com, but not how it has grown.

I have never found any pressure to write on my blog, I write when I feel like it.  Now, there may be a little more pressure, but as a guest columnist, I just might not make it every week.  I have thought a lot this weekend about what to write about for this week, but try as I have, I keep coming back to the events of March 2.

I thought about writing about Why Providence is Successful!  And I had this great idea about going into great detail how they are fundamental and they rarely make mistakes on offense or defense.  I was going to go in detail about every single thing they do that many teams don't do correctly and Providence does it at a high level, and no Coach Lefevere, a trained monkey couldn't get them to do it. So many coaches compliment you and your team because, I think, we are a little envious, but we wouldn't admit it.

I thought about writing about the Final Four (I am an IU fan) and how this IU team over achieved and is now in the Sweet 16 and how the NCAA set up this rematch between IU and UK (I picked UK to win it all).  I thought about writing how the NCAA tournament is the greatest sports spectacle in this country because it lasts for so long, almost everyone in this country has to know at least something is going on with basketball.

But it keeps coming back to March 2.  Everytime I do something like attend the Sweet 16 for Kentucky high schools, or attend the Tennessee boys' state finals, or the Big Ten tourney, or the Indiana State Finals, I feel that it is unfair to the victims in my hometown.  It is a cruel reality in death and tragedy that the rest of the world goes on.  While you mourn, others go about their lives as if nothing is any different (and it usually isn't for them).

But I also believe that no matter the circumstances one of the best things you can do to honor those who may have died or those who have been devastated is to continue your life; but never forget.  You continue to do those things you always did, but help when possible.  You continue to do those things you always did, and tell as many people what they can do to help.  You continue to do those things you always did, and you tell the stories of true heroism to anyone who will listen.  And yes, you continue to do the things you always did because you enjoy them and life should go on.

If you want to send money to help, send a check to the New Washington State Bank, P.O. Box 243, Henryville, IN 47126.  Make it out to "HHS tornado fund" and you can tag the amount to wherever you want the money to go to; Henryville boys' basketball, girls' basketball, baseball, softball, high school cheerleaders, jr. high cheerleaders, high school, elementary, etc.

Dealing with March 2

Since the tornado hit our town and destroyed much of our school at Henryville, I have tried to put on a strong front.  Dealing with the death of my uncle Wayne Hunter and being there for my father and family (I hope I was), understanding how dangerous the situation my wife and I found ourselves in March 2, knowing that my wife felt some trauma too made me feel like I needed to be strong for everyone.  I am not sure I even felt too much.  It wasn't that I didn't care, but I think I was in shock, somewhat. 

I cannot begin to fathom what many people in the communities of Pekin, Borden, Henryville, and Marysville went through.  The stories that are coming out of those places make me look silly for "suffering" anything.  Adults, men and women, but especially the children are dealing with many wounds.  Though the physical suffering was minimal, the psychological suffering has to be severe and will be around for a long while (just imagine the next big storm that comes through).

As a basketball coach, really any kind of coach, we, I think, are taught to put on a strong front, to be a strong leader.  I even think that as men, in general, in rural America, we are taught to be tough, show no emotion.  Well, after one week, I guess my mind decided it was time for me to soak in a little more than I had been doing so when it came to this event.  Last May, I had to leave school one day because I thought I was having a heart attack, I went to the ER, had all the tests run and nothing was wrong with my heart.  The decision by my doctor was that I probably had a panic attack.  That didn't surprise me, as it runs in my family, I guess they can be genetic.

I have a psychology minor so I understood what a panic attack was, in fact, when I was going through it last May, I had a good idea that's what it was I suffered from that day.  I have overcome them until this past Friday night.  I had such a severe panic attack that it woke me up, and I felt my bed shaking (it wasn't, I was).  The feelings you have when this goes on are overwhelming, but I guess my mind and body told me it was time to come face to face with what I went through.  Thank the Lord for my wife who was with me throughout that night.

So what do I feel about what happened?  I understand why I had this happen and I am trying to keep things in perspective.  But, I also feel guilty.  When my story is compared to so many other peoples', those who lost everything and many people who were thrown by the tornado and survived, it is ridiculous (in my mind) to consider myself a "victim". 

The whole point of this article is to make everyone aware who was involved in this event that you do have psychological healing to do as well as physical healing.  Please be aware of your own behavior, the behavior of your loved ones and of course the behavior of your children.

Because if you feel that you can't allow anyone in, if you feel that by talking about it shows weakness, if you think that you have to be strong, I hope you read this and know that even the "strong leader basketball coach" is struggling with what happened.

1 in 2 million



(this part of the school is gone, students would have been located in the hallways and bathroom that no longer exist)

Yep, 1 in 2 million that is what I came up with googling "odds of being in a tornado".  Odds of an F4 tornado hitting your town?  In a town the size of Henryville, it will happen once every 7,000 years.  Hmmmm.  I wonder what they did in 5,000 BC here?

How many times have we personally had tornado warnings, heard the sirens and done little?  I am probably guessing it is a high percentage of people.  I know I am guilty of it...not anymore.

The leadership of our school/s has come under fire for allowing our students to leave 15 minutes early on March 2.  When the buses were pulling away from the school, the sirens in town were going off.  The same sirens we have heard many, many, many times and with zero times of anything happening.  Should we have allowed them to do that?  After walking around the school immediately after the hit, if students had been kept at HHS and HES, we would have been attending a few more than one funeral this week.

So let's run down some possible scenarios from Friday, March 2.

1. Administration could have released students early (only a few schools did this, most stayed in school) probably around noon or 1 PM.  Students would have been cleared from the school which had a 1 in 2 million chance of being hit by an F 4 tornado and gone home.  Not a big deal for the older students, but numerous elementary students could have gone home to homes with no parents.

Possible consequences: Young children are home without supervision and no tornado hits=administration comes under fire.

Young children are home without supervision and tornado hits=administration comes under fire.

2. Administration could have kept students at school not allowing any to leave while sirens were going off in background as is protocol for many schools and businesses.  Students take to safe places in the building.

Possible consequences: All students held after, many parents not knowing where there children are and why the buses aren't running and no tornado means admin overreacted=administration comes under fire.

All students held after, many parents not knowing where their children are and buses aren't running and tornado does hit killing many and wounding even more and buses could have pulled out getting students away from the school=administration comes under fire.

3.  Administration releases students 15 minutes with over 1000 students on their own fending for themselves against a tornado that has 1 in 2 million odds of hitting you.

Possible consequences: Many students killed and injured as bus drivers are swept against the tornado=administration comes under fire.

Zero students/teachers are killed or injured in the school, many bus drivers act bravely and some students are injured because they were home=administration comes under fire.

#3 and the last consequence is what actually occurred on March 2.  Oh to be in a position of leadership...every single consequence has administration coming under fire and someone wanting them to be fired.

My sister, Jennifer Hayes, said recently that "we all need to quit with the 'what ifs'".  I couldn't agree more.  What needs to be done, and I am pretty sure that this is going on is that we need to examine the decisions that led up to what was done on March 2, and I agree.  We need to see what was done right and what we can improve on because as you see every single decision had consequences that would leave someone asking for the head of the administration.

Some are calling what happened dumb luck on both the tornado hitting the town/school and the call to release early and that no one was injured or killed.  Some are saying that God had a hand in it.  This is what I believe: there were many things that occurred that stood out of the normal with me that saved my life, at least kept me from bad inuries.  The call to release early saved lives at the Henryville campus, you cannot argue that because I know where students would have been and I know what happened to those parts of the building.  At Borden schools, the call to keep them at school was the right one as many would have been caught immediately in the storm.

Must have been dumb luck....?

If You Want to Help and Can't Get Here

To help HHS use the following information: you can donate money for Henryville High School and mail it to the New Washington State Bank at PO Box 243 in Henryville. There are 3 accounts for Henryville tornado relief. Just not which one in the memo line: Henryville school relief, Henryville athletics, or Henryville community relief.

Mike Sipe, Rick Belcher, Cole Belcher, and Adam Kleinert

On March 2, an EF 4 tornado hit the town of Henryville.  Almost immediately an EF 1 was in the area and severe hail hit the town.  Both events were devastating to the town and took the life of my uncle, Wayne Hunter.

On Speith Road after the EF 4 hit, the above four mentioned men risked their lives to go out and search for a family member.  While doing so, they stopped and attended to my aunt and uncle.  After seeing that my uncle was not alive, they turned to my aunt, Lenora Hunter.  She was still alive, but bleeding a lot.

What follows is sketchy information on what happened exactly, I may get some of the details wrong, but the story, in its generality, is correct.  After the F 4 tornado hit, Cole Belcher, Adam Kleinert, and Mike Sipe happened onto my family.  When the hail started falling, Cole Belcher went back for more help and Mike Sipe covered my aunt up and himself to protect themselves from the hail.

The hail was baseball and some was softball size.  If Mike hadn't reacted the way he did, my aunt could have died.  Laying there bleeding and battered, being pummeled by that hail couldn't have been good for her.  Adam, Cole, Mike, and Rick Belcher were able to get my aunt back to one of their houses where they were able to tend to her wounds.  From there they put her in a truck, but the roads were blocked with fallen trees.  From what I have been told, Rick drove wherever there a place to go; road, fields, wherever to get her to an ambulance.

Of course, no one can say for sure what would have happened if thise four guys hadn't shown up that day and helped my aunt, but I do know that if they hadn't the possibility of further injury and possible death increased greatly.  I have spoken with a few of these guys and have thanked them and they are like most of the people in our small town, they don't like the attention and they feel that they did only what was needed and expected.  That they did what anyone else in that given situation might do, that may be true, but they were there and they acted bravely.