To Address The 2,000 Pound Elephant In The Room With Us...

Yes, the house that exploded at 8:13 Thursday Night was one of my neighbors, two doors down actually, on the other side of the street.

No, no one but John, the only occupant of the house, was injured, and sadly he passed away Saturday morning from his injuries.

No, despite what one TV station reported with a caption under my name during an interview, my house was NOT destroyed. Jacked up and shaken, sure...but not destroyed. I'm typing this in my basement, actually.

We were fortunate enough to have a particular amount of specific damage that permitted us to move back into our home Saturday night. Our house will get further scrutiny soon, including a more specific look at our foundation, and our attic.

I appreciate the myriad of emails, phone calls from friends and co-workers...all of whom ARE friends...I've recieved. But we are extremely fortunate in this situation, and there are families in my neighborhood far more deserving of the attention.

If you feel compelled to do something...might I recommend the following:

• DONATE BLOOD. Our neighborhood was lucky that there weren't more injuries. Go visit the South Bend Medical Foundation, and help my friend Jeanna and the gang make sure that our blood supply is always ready at a moment's notice if something like this ever happens again in our community.
• Do something to support The American Red Cross. Rebekah Go and her support staff swept into Arbor Pointe within two hours of the explosion and started helping a lot of confused people...my wife and I included...make sense of what was going on. Anything we could have possibly needed, down to something as simple as clothing, was right there if needed. They even called me the following day to inform me that Applebees on Portage wanted to feed the 8 most affected families dinner that night.
• Tell a German Township, Clay Township, or SJ County Firefighter that they are The Man. Because they are. I can't say enough about how fantastic they all were. The Police, too.
• Keep John Floyd in your prayers this week. I didn't know him very well, but I've heard about him from several of his friends this week, including students at Washington and fellow Police Officers who knew him before he retired.

Thank you all again, and I'm looking forward to things getting back to normal at work this week.

Signed,
Tommie Lee
Really Freakin' Lucky Guy