I was reading this story the other day in the paper. It’s about an 11 month old boy found 150 yards from the slab that used to be his house. A tornado ripped it apart and killed his mother. Miraculous and heartbreaking stuff. Even though I live in a part of the country where they are extremely rare, and have never personally had an experience with one, I’ve had nightmares about tornados. I think maybe four or five in all over the past maybe fifteen years. And so when reading that article, this description recounted by one survivor really stood out:
James Krueger, a 49-year-old electrician, opened the door to look out of the 100-year-old home he was restoring and the wind sucked the door from his hand. He dived onto the ground “as if I was sliding into first.” The house was pulled out from under him — and when it was over, he was on bare ground.
Can you imagine? I could only hope that if in the same situation, it all happens too fast for the fear to have time to take hold of me. And if later asked by a reporter how it all felt, I know my quote wouldn’t be nearly as enthralling as what this man provided:
“It was like God was holding my leg and beating the (expletive) out of me for everything I’ve done in my life,” said Krueger, of Lafayette. “Maybe I tried to question God too many times, but the bottom line is something kept me there.”
I wish I knew what the “expletive” was though. Regardless of how you feel about language like that, there are most definitely occasions where it’s called for, and I would love to have that quote exactly as it was given.
The FAQ page for the Associated Press provides an email address to use if you want to contact a reporter (it says the email will be forwarded to the appropriate person). I just wrote the following in hopes of getting the uncensored version of the quote:
I recently read your story “Baby a Sign of Hope in Devastated South” in which you quote Mr. James Krueger as saying:
It was like God was holding my leg and beating the (expletive) out of me for everything I’ve done in my life…
I found the full quote to be one of the most enthralling I’ve ever read and, if at all possible, I would like to know what “expletive” was used by Mr. Krueger. I know that strong language is not appropriate for all public consumption, and the need to edit it is unavoidable, but given the horrific nature of the events, I feel that knowing the exact quote would add more weight to his words. I’ve posted a link to the story at my personal website and, if you permit, would like to be able to provide the unedited version.
I asked that it be forwarded to one of the two reporters responsible for the story. I’ll update this entry if I receive a response.