Sunday, April 09, 2000

Memories of kindness ease memories of fear

---

The Tornado: One Year Later

BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Banwari and Meena Mittal, who were born and raised 7,785 miles away in India, always liked Montgomery. Nice house, good jobs. But their relationships with some neighbors never graduated beyond friendly waves.

Then: Meena Mittal and her son Mayank in front of their ruined home. (Saed Hindash photo) | ZOOM |

Now: The Mittals have just moved into their rebuilt home. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        The tornado changed that.

        “Sometimes you say hi and bye and wave back but that's it,” Meena Mittal explained. “But the tornado, that's the thing that brought us closer, the affection.”

        Neighbors more often ask them how they're doing, if there's anything they can do for the Mittals. It is a gesture returned.

        Mr. Mittal is a business professor at Northern Kentucky University. The family moved here from Buffalo, N.Y., in 1987. They were lured, like many who live in Montgomery Woods, by the schools and the trees. The high-quality schools are still here. Most of the trees are not.

        The family had been living in a three-bedroom apartment after the tornado, and only moved back to Lakewater two weeks ago. Their yard still has no grass and they've had difficulty getting phone service, but it was a triumphant return.

        Memories of the tornado still send a chill through Mrs. Mittal, who lost traditional Indian clothing that was not easily replaced. “One night you go to bed in comfort,” she said, “and in a second, I was pinned between two walls.”

        But wonderful memories endure too.

        “One woman said "We have a big house, you can stay with us.' I didn't even know her name,” Mrs. Mittal said. “Good people are everywhere, it doesn't matter about color. That's my belief.”

       

---

TORNADO: Powerful storm taught powerful lessons
A dog survives, a family feels blessed
Crisis response: 'I'm the person who saved my family'
Sense of humor turns overwhelmed to upbeat
Day of thanksgiving for those who helped
Disaster team helped, then quietly left
Lessons in the whirlwind
Memories of kindness ease memories of fear
More and better sirens expand storms warnings
Painting portrays sunflower rebirth
The graveyard of the trees
The roof went straight up, the house flew away
Tree a reminder of a boss who cared
Tornado of '99 archive