High school senior loses everything in tornado

On Sunday morning, Caleb was lying in his warm bed. Now, nothing of that room is left.

His former room with shattered glass, blinds and metal that used to hold those four walls together. That part of his home was a total loss.

Caleb and his family have no idea what’s next. The future is up in the air, just as most of his belongings were this weekend.

Baby shoes, pictures and homemade gifts were just some of the precious things that were ripped away from Caleb White over the weekend. “I don’t really have anything anymore. This is where I slept. This is where I lived. I mean, it ain’t there anymore,” said Caleb. 

The things he did have are now outside or in the trees or drifted streets away. Devastation like this isn’t something most high school seniors have to worry about five months before graduation.

“Finding all of my baby shoes and my clothes and s— in the neighbors’ yard, it’s bad,” Caleb said.

While the physical pieces are hard to carry, the emotional toll is even more tremendous. “All of this stuff came out of right there. There was a dresser right there with some clothes in it,” Caleb said. “It’s just like all my stuff got disrespected and thrown, thrown away, thrown to the side. I don’t know. I don’t think I deserved it. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Talking to Caleb’s mom, Justina Hall, you’ll see that he actually did everything right. “I’m very proud of him, and that’s why it hurts that he goes through this stuff because he’s such a good kid,” Hall said.

He’s a good kid who has, unfortunately, experienced a few bad days. But, this weekend wasn’t so horrible – he never forgot what mattered. In fact, he says this experience taught him something.

“Respect all of your family and respect all of the ones you love and tell them you love them as much as you can,” Caleb said.

Hall says the insurance adjuster will be out at the home on Wednesday. She’s praying that they’ll tell her the house is salvageable. That way, they could somehow find Caleb a camper or trailer to live in in the front yard. If that’s not the case, the family has no idea where they’ll go or what they’ll do. Right now, all they can do is pray.