We were sad last year when our excellent friends Jim and Carolyn Hercik and their two boys Ben and Danny left our area and moved to Gallatin, Tennessee, about 24 miles northeast of Nashville; but happy that Jim was excited about his new job.

And hey, the weather would be better than Northeast Ohio, right?

The weather had been swell until last Friday when tornadoes struck Middle Tennessee killing 12, causing over $68 million in property damage to more than 1,000 homes, businesses, and farms in Gallatin's Sumner County alone, the Herciks' home among the victims.

(The former Casa de Hercik - Gallatin, Tennessee)

Carolyn wrote to friends and family a few days later:

Friday morning... The boys went to school and I went to the grocery store, went out planted some flower seeds and had lunch and got on the computer, emailed some people and checked the weather. The service said that the storms would pass below Nashville so I was sending a letter to Mom saying we would be fine, then I heard the train sound, looked out the window and saw 2x4's circling about 100 yards up in the air along with other debris, so I went down the stairs and turned the corner and it hit the house, the dog was there on the floor at the bottom of the stairs and I just ducked and covered him and myself as best I could — there was no time to think about it.

I got hit with something on the back of my head and I have a pretty nasty black and blue mark on my right shoulder and a lot of cuts and abrasions from flying glass. It was over in seconds or so it seemed and it became very quiet, eerie almost.

The boys were still at school and I could not get to them until about 5:30. Our clocks had stopped at 2:24 p.m.

Jim was in California on business and I went to the neighbors and we called him on their cell because I could not go in the house because of the gas leaks. The GFD finally shut off the gas and I went in to get clothes for us, and one of Jim's co-workers showed up around 4:30 and got me out. The van's windows had imploded and my car was covered with sheetrock and debris and the company car had the back window blown out. So we got the boys and went to Tom's house three counties over. And that was Friday.

Jim got home early Saturday morning and we went to the house to salvage stuff. We pulled out the computer and some other electronics and garage stuff, more clothes and baby pictures and got my car out — it still works but will need a complete check, a paint job to get rid of all the nicks, and the vinyl top has a few small cuts in it.

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