Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Spring City, Tennessee, made the national news yesterday, when it was cited by the media as an example of the damage Hurricane Ivan has done to the southeast. A city official was quoted as saying the main roads through the one stoplight town were underwater and that a Coca Cola machine had been seen hurtling around town on its own accord.

Earl and I have seen the devastating images from the last few weeks as wind and rain ravaged Florida and beyond. We’ve listened to orders of evacuation and marveled at stories of departing citizens who took eight or nine hours in their autos to go a few miles. We’ve been appalled at the damage that returning residents found when the storm passed.

But Spring City has struck closest to home. In fact, Spring City is home to Earl’s mother.

At age 91, she now resides in a nursing home in the next town over, but the house she shared with Earl’s father waits in hope she might return someday. Earl called friends there to learn firsthand how bad things were. He was told that most of the people evacuated before the torrent hit and the roads went out. But several mobile homes, which are popular in Tennessee, sank into the lake. One, in particular, hasn’t been seen since.

Where we live, the winter cold and grayness creates a long January through March. But watching all the suffering from the recent tropical storms made us realize that we, at least, don’t have to worry about mudslides, trees falling on roofs, and hurling Coke machines every summer.