A year ago today, with a 589-word blog post that I fired off before I went to work, my life changed.

I admit, in hindsight, I did have a hunch that I was writing something that might go a little bit further out than the usual Predators’ blog circle. However, I never had any idea what kind of impact that it would actually have.

Considering how easily the blog came to me that morning, it’s sort of funny to me that for an entire year, I have not really been able to put into words why or how I wrote it.

I’ve seen the shirts “in the wild” and it always makes me feel somewhat awkward. I’m just a guy that writes for a blog. I don’t get paid. I’ve never been paid to write anything. I only write for my own amusement. That morning, however, I realized that I had a vehicle to post my thoughts and so I did. Yes, we’re a hockey blog, but that doesn’t really matter. I’ve been asked time and again why I posted it on a hockey blog…and it’s pretty simple: I’m a hockey blogger – this is where my voice is heard.

All I wanted to do was remind the people that were reading that the tragedy was only temporary, that we would get through it, that we were a community of strong people and that we could rebuild.

Granted, there have been some setbacks in the past year – Opry Mills still isn’t open, there are homes that still need to be rebuilt and other homes and businesses that are so far into disrepair that their families and employees can never move back into them. Some people suffered losses at such a great amount that no amount of flood relief can remotely rebuild what they had.

It’s almost unbelievable to think about even a year later. Our city – our entire community was underwater. Some of our neighbors drowned, lost to a disaster that the majority of us never even imagined.

Yet, we’re still here – almost all of us. Certainly, a few people picked up their stakes and scooted out of town last year because of the floods, but most of us stuck around. It’s what we do. We stick it out and we stick it out for each other. Those of us who have survived have to survive so that the memories of those we lost and what we lost is not in vain.

It seems strange that in a week in which we hit the anniversary of our tragedy, our neighbors to the east, west and to the south have suffered a similar fate. Alabama has been absolutely devastated by tornadoes. The entire state is a disaster area, yet it appears to have been quickly forgotten due to Will and Kate’s wedding. Obviously, other important events happened later in the weekend that rightfully take the front page in the news, but our friends in East and West Tennessee, North Georgia and all of Alabama are still hurting. Don’t forget them. They need help.

I know you won’t forget. We’ve already seen what this community can do for our neighbors.

The thing is, we are still Nashville.

To assist with tornado recovery in Alabama, please click this link.

To assist with continued flood relief efforts in Middle Tennessee, please click this link.

To assist with tornado recovery in Chattanooga and North Georgia, please click this link and designate your donation to “Disaster Relief Fund”.

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