Stories - 9:42pm

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Posted by: Brandon

9:42pm

'There's been a tornado in Cabbagetown.' That was the sentence that changed everything for me on Friday March 15, 2008. My partner and I had been sitting at the bar at Graveyard Tavern finishing up some delicious sandwiches when the lights flashed on and off a couple of times. A few seconds later, the power went out completely.

Not long after the power went out, we got the word that Cabbagetown had been hit by a tornado. Nothing in my life experience could have possibly prepared me for what I was about to see. We gathered our things and prepared to head back to the Mill to assess the situation. The phone calls started to come in from all over, and the suspense was killing me - I HAD to know what had happened. Driving down Memorial drive, we could see buildings everywhere had windows blown out, and debris littered the roadway. It started to sink in just how powerful the storm had been. Off to the right, I kept peering over toward Cabbagetown to see what I could determine in the black night sky. I could see the silhouette of the smoke stacks and the tower against the clouds, so I felt somewhat relieved that my home wasn't completely destroyed.

We approached the front entrance on Boulevard and to my horror, I saw the roof of the C building blown off on the corner. Still, the full magnitude of the situation eluded me. I ran up the stairs in our building to check on the place, but when I got out of the stairwell on the 5th floor, I was mesmerized by the sight of the night sky through my neighbors loft where the roof used to me. To say it was shocking would not do justice to the emotions that I felt. Could this be happening? Could these giant timbers really be blown off of the building?

I ran up to the roof to check on the tower and was relieved to find it intact. Somehow through all the destruction, it had been spared. One of the phone calls that came in was from my mom who told us that there was another storm on the way. We hurried through the place to gather some clothes before quickly running down the stairs and out the side door. We walked through what used to be an amazing courtyard between the F building and the old ruins of the Bleachery. Perhaps nothing characterized the Cotton Mill more than the pool nestled in these old ruins. They were gone.

We dodged debris and fallen beams to dart out the front and along the sidewalk on Boulevard. I looked up in total horror at the front of the E building that had been totally blown off at the top. The whole experience was taking on a new dimension altogether. The place that I had called home for 7 years was in shambles. I had no idea what do to or what to say. We just drove.

When we arrived at my parents' house, we were glued to the television for hours watching the footage of the destruction. I was finally able to get some sleep, but kept waking up thinking about what had happened. I knew I had to get back down there and help somehow. After having a cup of coffee and a biscuit, it was time to face the situation head on. We weaved our way back through the neighborhood – trying to find a road that wasn’t blocked by trees or power lines. That wasn’t easy at all, but eventually we made it and found a spot on Carroll St.

Courtyard

Daylight really put it into perspective. How could this possibly happen, I thought. This was like something like you would see on the news, but in a far away place. This was MY HOME! It looked like a bomb had been dropped on the property, and debris was literally everywhere. Pieces of the roof insulation had found its way into every imaginable place. Yellow chunks of debris and huge pieces of roof beams were scattered about the property, and you could see pool furniture had been blown around everywhere.

We went up to check on the loft, and when we entered the bedroom, we noticed the time on the clock had stopped. It was 9:42pm – a time I would never forget.

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