When you see the hand of God

Today was the tornado, covered on national television in glowing detail, in some of the most verdant, fertile farmland in Colorado, in a mile-wide belt from Gilchrist to Windsor, and beyond.

Farmers now plow with tractors taller than they are, with dual back wheels, pulling 8-tandem plows. They break up sod in huge sheets, quickly and efficiently. Similarly, after the crop grows, huge combines move rapidly over field, bringing in the grain in massive truckloads. Farmers of yesteryear could only dream of tilling the acreage today's farmer can work by himself with modern equipment.

As miraculous as all that sounds, a sight seen around farm towns like Gilchrist and Windsor everyday--it was nothing, as the tornado uprooted huge mature trees like they were twigs, slammed around cars like they were tin cans, and tore the roofs and windows off buildings in the blink of an eye. There still is someone more powerful, more awesome than anything man can create.

God was merciful, as only one life was lost in this tragedy. "Things" can be replaced. Bodies cannot.

But the most beautiful things in small rural communities like these, are how the neighbors pull together, caring for each other and meeting each other's needs without regard to the cost or who gets what or who gets the credit.

Out in rural Colorado, as in rural areas across America, there was no outcry blaming the federal government or demanding their assistance, like in New Orleans. These are hardy, self-reliant people, who welcome in the government only as an afterthought.

Here, you can still see the real genius and spirit of America.