It was a long drive from Concord, Tennessee, to Concord, Alabama, so we left at dawn and arrived in time for lunch. A suburb of Birmingham, Concord has a population of 1825. It had been a coal mining town. Here's a link to a five-minute YouTube video about the Concord Coal Mine in the 1950's.
We wandered into "Pickers Paradise and Thrift," where Lizzy bought a lamp made of rock salt and I made small talk with the owner, Jason. He recommended the neighboring gas station for "The best bacon double cheeseburger" in the state.
As far as we could tell, Jason did not lie. It was the best sandwich we had on our trip.
While we were there, we started talking to a group of local town workers who told us about the memorial to the tornado victims next to the fire station.
We stopped by the Concord fire station and started chatting with Ronald who told us about the devastation of the F5 tornado with 190 MPH winds that tore a mile and a half path through the town that can still be seen four years later. 14 residents of Concord died.
Concord Tornado 2011
Twisted trees lie in the streets.
Ripped out by their deep, ancient roots,
Their thick trunks splintered and stripped.
Some still stand, limbless, skinless,
Tan colored toothpicks,
Towering to the sky.
Two piles at the road:
Wood.
Metal.
And a sign painted with the names
of those who once
Lived here, loved here, made their home here.
This is what is left
A handcrafted dollhouse
A birdhouse painted red, chipped and scratched,
Some blocks of wood which
Could have been made into something
anything
- By Ryan Wood
Twisted trees lie in the streets.
Ripped out by their deep, ancient roots,
Their thick trunks splintered and stripped.
Some still stand, limbless, skinless,
Tan colored toothpicks,
Towering to the sky.
Two piles at the road:
Wood.
Metal.
And a sign painted with the names
of those who once
Lived here, loved here, made their home here.
This is what is left
A handcrafted dollhouse
A birdhouse painted red, chipped and scratched,
Some blocks of wood which
Could have been made into something
anything
- By Ryan Wood