The Enterprise tornadoes are so sad. When I heard the news yesterday I just had to pause for a moment. It's always hard for me when I hear about students being killed in accidents be it storms or whatever.
The next thing I thought of was my friend Robert O'Shields. He is a reporter at WAKA in Montgomery (the station I worked for before WHNT). Robert is from Enterprise and his mom still lives there. When I finally talked to him he was very shocked at everything he'd seen. Robert graduated from the high school the tornado hit. He called me back when he finally left the scene. He told me it was very hard because he knew some of the students who were killed in the storm, that he'd grown up with some of them in church. Plus, the teachers who are injured.
These are those stories that are hard to report on and hard to put our feelings on the back burner because of the emotions. Especially, for reporters like Robert who are so connected to the story. So Robert I'm praying for you and everyone involved in these devastating tornadoes.
1 comment:
Hello Everyone,
Thank you for your prayers. It is sad to say that I lost a church member and a friend. Michael Tompkins, was 17 years old. He was on the baseball team, Encore Chorus, and other clubs. Mickey was planning his senior prom which was scheduled at the end of the month. The night the storms were back in Alabama I was called to go home, I thought why are we going to Enterprise its not in our viewing area and growing up there we've had worse storm come by. Little did I know at 1:00pm my mother calls me and asks, "Why am I on my knees in the middle of Wal-Mart?" I look at our weather station sure enough a tornado was heading her way in matter of minutes. I told my mother "I love you and pray". On the drive to Enterprise all could think about was my mother, I just lost my father four years ago, emotions were taking over that long drive home. When I arrived I got two phones, one my mother was Ok safe at the house on the other side of town. The second, Donna Tompkins, Mickey's mother, "Robert, Mickey is missing if you hear anything call me." I arrived at City Hall the base station for everyone. Mrs. Donna, was telling me that the parents room was once full of parent one by one they were gone what was left were parents that knew the fate of their children. I hugged Mrs. Donna and Kimberly, Mickey's sister, "We want to see the whites of Mickey's eye,Robert!". It was hard letting go because at 10:00pm was scheduled to go LIVE! After I got done I drove back to Montgomery then at 11:45pm the phone call that nearly killed me. Kimberly said my name and cried..... I had to pull over and just cry. It's hard being a jouralist reporting on death but when you have a close tie it makes it that much harder. I want thank Amber and everyone for their prayers. Tuesday morning I say good-bye to Mighty Mike.
-Robert
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