Cardboard cutout of Jeter still stands tall

MAYFLOWER -- In a way, the EF-4 tornado that struck Mayflower on April 27 closed a chapter in the lives of Kevin and Kerry Short.

The couple had lived in their home at the end of Dam Road since 1989. It's where they raised Michelle, their only child.

Michelle, a member of the University of Central Arkansas softball team, died in a car accident at the age of 19 in March 2004, and Kevin and Kerry established a memorial scholarship fund at UCA to benefit freshman walk-on softball players after her death.

Then. 10 years and one month after Michelle's death, the tornado swept away all of her family's physical remnants from that era.

"Kerry and I have been through so much the last 10 years," Short said. "Stuff is stuff, whether it's a home or a boat or a car. That's just stuff. The important things in our lives are the people and the relationships. We can replace everything else.

"Losing our home was absolutely devastating. There was a whole lot of sweat equity in that house, but we can get another house. I can't get another father, another brother, another friend like Steve Howard. Those things I cannot replace."

Tornadoes do such crazy things. It lifted the entire house and set it back down slightly off from where it had been. Short said the drawers of Kerry's dresser had been sucked open, stuffed with insulation and slammed shut.

"You can't get insulation out of clothes, so she'll have to replace all of those," Short said.

In Michelle's room remained a life-size, autographed Derek Jeter cutout. The room was demolished, Short said, but the New York Yankees shortstop stood untouched.

"It was freaky," Short said. "All the windows were blown out. Doors were wide open, glass everywhere, but there's that cardboard Derek Jeter standing there smiling.

"How the hell does that happen?"

Kerry Short decided she wanted to finish what the tornado started. A crew that was razing its ruins showed her how to operate the track hoe, and last Saturday morning she took the first swipe knocking out the first wall.

"She said it felt pretty damn good," Short said. "She knew we were moving forward."

Sports on 05/11/2014

Upcoming Events