Too Much Tragedy

It's been an insanely busy month of April. Every week it seems like there's another tragedy, another out of the ordinary news event to cover. It started with a car crash along Interstate 65 in Hart County where 11 people died. A tractor trailer crossed over the median and hit a 15 passenger van full of a family of Mennonites on their way to a wedding in Iowa. The truck driver died, as did 10 people in the family. Only a 5 and 6 year old who were adopted from Guatelmala survived.

I was not there for the accident, but travelled down to Cumberland County where the family lived. The home was a good 3 hours from Lexington. I made the trip that Friday of the accident, then Monday for the visitation and Tuesday for the funeral. I think everyone in the media who was there, stations from Lexington, Louisville, Nashville and Bowling Green would agree, it was the last place any of us wanted to be. Though there were things to learn.

I learned from the hospitality. The family, the community, the church, it was truly touching. Though they were grieving, they still took time out to speak with us, to welcome us. Greg was down there the Saturday after the accident working on a story and they invited him and his reporter to eat with them. Their view on death was also inspiring. It's not everyone someone loses nearly a whole family in one accident, but everyone there believed it was in God's plan and they were in a better place. Right or wrong, I'm sure as the weeks have passed since the accident, those beliefs have helped them get through.

Here's a link to the story Greg shot about the Mennonite family:

http://www.whas11.com/home/Fund-set-up-funeral-arrangements-made-for-10-members-of-Mennonite-family-89335892.html

That car accident is usually a once a month, once a year news event. But the following week, 5 people, including a 12, 4, 3 and 20 month old died in a house fire in Metcalfe County. I was sent out there to get family reaction while another reporter did a story about what happened. Incredible. You would think everyone would tell you to stay out of their face, but every time I called someone, they would hang up the phone by telling me to call them if I needed anything. What did I need? Twelve people were living in a trailer that caught fire and only 7 made it out. Now their family was trying to help me. That's Kentucky for you. I'm not sure I've run into any part of this state where they aren't completely welcoming to strangers.

I spent two days in Metcalfe County. On the second, I talked with the surviving matriarch of the family, who lost two daughters and three grandchildren. I was there as the local grocery store gave her a box full of clothes and more than 800 dollars raised by it's customers.

I talked with that woman again this week, who says her one daughter who is still in the improving has opened her eyes and is talking. She was pulled out of the house by her husband who had to grab her hair to get her away from the flames, then had to put the fire around her out. It was her three children that died.

As much as I hate telling those stories, as much as I wish nothing like that ever happened, I hope letting everyone know what happened will teach everyone the lessons I learn, about resilience, about kindness, about strength.