The week I stopped selling homes and started tearing them down.

Last week I chose to stop selling homes for four days and start de-constructing houses. The houses I was going to de-construct were not just houses, they were homes.  Homes that people loved and had worked hard for. They were homes that the owners had raised their children in and had made memories in. They were also homes that had been ravaged by up to 10 feet of water during a disastrous flood in middle Tennessee.
When I decided to make the trip to lend a hand, I had no idea the support I would receive from my friends and family, the wonderful people I would meet or the feelings which would overwhelm me.


My brother and I drove to Nashville on Wednesday, May 26th.  Our first stop was the Anchor Response Team warehouse to drop off donations from clients, friends and family that had so generously given food, clothing, cleaning supplies and more. It was bittersweet to see people coming in to pick up items that we take for granted such as deodorant, socks and water.  Everyone I met, from the victims to the volunteers, were filled with gratitude and had such a great spirit about them in spite of the devastation they had endured.

From there we headed to West Nashville to assist in the clean up of an elderly woman's home which had been flooded with about 3 feet of water. We worked along side Mussa, the owner's son who also lived in the home. As we cleaned out the items that his family collected for years, Mussa hid his emotions behind laughter and a smile. I later overheard him talking with someone from Hands On Nashville, the volunteer organization we were working with. He explained the difficulty of having total strangers come in to clear his home of items they deemed trash, such things as family photos, his passport and other trinkets, which were his treasures, had to be left at the curb with the rest of the waterlogged debris.  There were a couple things that he rescued from the garbage heap but he never got upset or angry.  Each time a volunteer would leave for the day, Mussa was there to show his gratitude with a hug or elbow bump depending upon how dirty he was at the time.



The second and third day were spent at a mobile home park near where I lived for 8 years.  The mobile homes were filled with four feet of water (keep in mind that most mobile homes sit about three feet off the ground).  When we arrived at the home that had been assigned to us, a lot of the flooring and about half of the drywall had already been removed.  The owner's seventy five year old dad and 17 year old son, Kyle, were hard at work pulling the flooring out of the rest of the home.  They continued working when we arrived but it was obvious that they were happy to see us.


During a much needed break, I had the opportunity to sit and talk to Kyle and hear his reaction to the events of the last three weeks. He explained that his home hadn't been much to begin with but it was all they had.  He has been there every day since the flood hit, helping his dad and grandpa clean out the home and remove the molded debris.  I also found out they are still required to pay lot fees to the mobile home park where their shell of a home sits.  Kyle went on to tell us how happy he was to have help since his father had a heart attack the day before we arrived and was in the hospital.  The second day we were there, Kyle's dad was released from the hospital and was able to come by their home to find about 10 volunteers there helping Kyle and his dad.  He thanked us and I overheard him mention that they had received their FEMA funds and the money should be enough to cover rebuilding the mobile home.

My three days spent with these families and volunteers are days which I'm sure I will reflect upon for the rest of my life.  I had the opportunity to work along side some of the kindest, most compassionate people I've ever met and made some new friends in the process.  I have also been humbled by the strength of these families and the struggles which they will continue to face for a long time to come.  To every volunteer, I applaud you and to every family dealing with this disaster, my prayers are with you.

The volunteers from Hands On Nashville.  The very tall gentleman behind me with dreads is Mussa.