The Storm Has Passed Over

As many of you saw on the news last night, we had quite a storm in Atlanta (Mayor Franklin confirmed this morning that it was indeed a tornado). Downtown took the worst of it, with office buildings, cars, and sporting arenas alike all taking a good bit of damage. A loft complex in Cabbagetown collapsed, but thankfully everyone has been accounted for. Fortunately, I have checked with my friends who live in the most dangerous area and everyone seems to be fine.
I didn't completely avoid the storm, however. I went out to eat in Grant Park last night with two friends and the storm swept through at just about the time we were leaving. Almost immediately after we left Six Feet Under, the restaurant's power went out. The lights also went out on most of Memorial Drive, which it made it particularly difficult to see.
Unfortunately, the darkness, the wind, and the rain prevented me from seeing a downed street sign with twisted metal lying in the middle of Memorial. I hit the sign, but fortunately didn't do too much damage to my car, just a dent and some scraping on the right side. I did manage to dodge another sign on my way home.
My few hundred dollar scratch isn't too bad, but the experience was definitely scary. A man who was already on the sidewalk came and checked to make sure we were OK. I told him we were, and he asked if we could call 911 with his address, and we did. I was so rattled by my own accident, that I didn't even ask if he was OK. I assume he was since he was out checking on us, but I wish I would have been more aware of him to ask a simple question.
It is unfortunately the case that most of the time we are preoccupied with our own crises and situations that we too easily can ignore those of other people, even if they are right in our face. Next time, I pray that I will stop, look, and see.