The people in the southern US who have survived the many terrible tornadoes this year have lost so much. Many no longer have homes or possessions. While the world has responded with donations and money for shelter, clothing and food, which is of course much needed. However, one person has done an amazing thing. It is a small in comparison with all that has been lost, but it is also huge. Patty Bullion lives in Lester, Alabama, which has escaped the storms of 2011. One day, in the aftermath of the April 27 storm, Patty noticed a piece of paper in the yard of a relative’s home. She picked it up and realized it was an ultrasound picture of a baby. Patty was adopted at the age of two and has no baby pictures of herself, and she immediately knew that she wanted the woman in the picture to have this souvenir back. She then began to look under trees, along roads and in fields and collected more and more pictures. There were old pictures, pictures of grads, weddings. . .so many memories, lost in the winds of the storms. She started a face book page called “Pictures and Documents Found After the April 27, 2011 Tornadoes”. She posted the pictures she had found and invited others to do the same. Eventually over 3,700 pictures were posted. Families who had lost everything began to identify the pictures on her site and gratefully claimed them back. Through these families, Patty now knows that some of the pictures she collected flew over 130 miles. What an amazing person Patty is. She has given back to people some of the memories which were lost and which they will now once again be able to pass on to future generations. However, when they pass on these pictures, as well as the story of the image itself, they will also tell of the journey of the pictures in the tornadoes of 2011 and of the woman who saved and returned them. Special people who go out of their way to make the lives of others just a little better . . . it’s a good thing!
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