Tina Hardy/American Red Cross
Sandi Goebel and her friends, Ron and Pat Beal and Jim and Sally Lovelly, sat at the American Red Cross feeding center on Thursday, February 8th having dinner that had been prepared by volunteers. They welcomed me as I sat down to join them.
As we began to talk, they told me Sandi’s mobile home had sustained major damage in the tornados and is scheduled to be demolished within the next several days. Sandi and her four friends were there removing what could be salvaged from her home before it is crushed and pushed to the side of the road. As we began to talk about the devastation that was all around us and how each of them had been affected by this tragedy stories of gratitude, faith and divine intervention were shared.
Sandi told me she was awakened in the night by the loud noise and had gotten out of bed and tried to close the window. She realized that it must have been a tornado because her roof was now in her kitchen. She called her friend Sally, who said she would come get her, not realizing that she would not be able to get through the debris field that now existed in Lady Lake.
As Sally began to share her memory of that night, she told me of Sandi’s phone call and how she could barely speak to her for crying with concern for her friend. She also shared a story that Sandi had told her. Apparently a few day’s before the tornados, Sandi was cleaning out her storage shed in the back yard and had found a pair of her husband’s shoes. Her husband had passed away two years ago and she wanted to save his shoes so she put them on the steps. After the storm, as Sandi observed the damage, she realized that her mobile home had been shifted off its foundation and one side of her home was caved in; but her husband’s shoes were still on the steps where she had lovingly placed them just the day before.
Sandi told me “my husband was watching out for me”.
Sandi and her friends expressed their appreciation for the American Red Cross and all the help they had received since the tornados hit. Sandi plans to purchase a new home and place in the same spot. “I have such wonderful friends here; I don’t want to leave them”
The Lovelly’s and the Beal’s are helping their friend Sandi get through this life changing tragedy. Their friendship and concern for each other will not change her losses due to this event, but it will help to make the recovery easier.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousand of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the tornadoes in Central Florida, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
