Enterprise, AL got the shit kicked out of it this afternoon.

[trof]

It's about 170 miles from us.
Tornado hit the high school during classes.
8 dead so far.
Army's big aviation school is nearby at Ft. Rucker.
bummer

[NC_Nurse]

1. Wow, that sucks!

I hadn't heard about it. :-(

[lizziegrace]

2. I was born there

My dad finished his training at Ft Rucker. I pulled my birth certificate out to complete and I-9 tomorrow and there was Coffee County.

:(

[trof]

4. When was he there? I was a flight instructor in '67 & '68.

[lizziegrace]

11. He was there in 1961

After that, he did 2 years at Ft Bragg flying helicopters. He saw SE Asia heating up and got out. Spent the rest of his career with GE, Pratt & Whitney (engine engineer) and ended up at FedEx.

:)

[trof]

12. I've had GEs and P&Ws.

GE makes the BEST jet engines, hands down.
Take a lickin' and keep on tickin'.

[Midlodemocrat]

3. I just heard that on the news.

God, I hope those kids are okay. And, of course the staff. :(

[Beausoir]

5. Good lord.

[alarimer]

6. My aunt lives in Dothan; I went to school in Troy

They live in a trailer, no less. I hope they are okay.

[trof]

7. I got a PM from JitterbugPerfume a couple of hours ago.

Wanted to know if we were OK.
That was sweet of her.
My DU buddies are always looking out for me.

We hardly ever get tornadoes on the gulf coast.
Just those spawned by hurricanes.

[hfojvt]

8. that's a show or series that I have not seen

Enterprise AI - is that new? What is the Artificial Intelligence? Is it all holograms?

I sorta thought it was typical for the Enterprise to take alot of punishment. Kirk never took very good care of it, especially in the 3rd movie.


On the other matter of tornadoes and death. That is a bummer. x(
I think some houses got destroyed in my state too. There was one reported.

[trof]

9. Ha! I never made that connection.

[trof]

10. Enterprise is 'famous' for the Boll Weevil Monument.

"One of the most unusual attractions in Alabama is the Boll Weevil Monument, which its hometown of Enterprise often touts as the world's only monument honoring a pest. Some dispute this distinction, saying perhaps big bug logos adorning pest control companies or other such "statues" are also monuments honoring a bug, but that's a bit of a stretch. In any case, Enterprise probably has the first bug monument, and arguably has the only one that actually pays tribute to a pest.

Disaster struck when the boll weevil reached Coffee County in 1915. It destroyed many cotton crops, leaving farmers in a financial bind and the area in a slump. However, one Enterprise businessman realized the boll weevil was on a course to severely damage local prosperity, so he took matters into his own hands. His name was H.M. Sessions, and he determined that peanuts would make a good crop for the area. In 1916 he convinced a deeply-indebted farmer named C.W. Baston to take a chance on peanuts for one year. Baston was a cotton farmer who had been hit hard by the boll weevil, and Sessions' offer to supply the peanuts for planting, a picker to harvest them with, and $1 a bushel was too good to refuse.

It wasn't long before another local businessman, Bon Fleming, came up with the idea to honor the bugs for forcing farmers to diversify crops. That seems strange to some, but time proved it wasn't so crazy, after all. The monument continues to be a popular tourist attraction, and it's gained national and international publicity for the city over the years. The Pea River Historical and Genealogical Society runs a shop on Main Street selling books, mini-statues, T-shirts and other items featuring the monument."
http://www.shelleybrigman.com/weevil.html