Out of disaster came lasting friendships

By Deborah Buckhalter

Published: May 31, 2008

Members of the “Cruisin’ U’s” Gold Wing Road Riders Association chapter in Dothan say they’re more like a sprawling family than some impersonal organization.

That was evident Saturday when they roared in to Marianna for a backyard get-together with the “Mom and Dad” of the group, Jim and Sue Hussey.

The two ride a wine-red Gold Wing Honda that Jim ‘tricked out’ so well that it’s won 45 awards at shows put on by Cruisin’ U’s chapters around the country.
Sue Hussey, at 79, is the oldest member and her 72-year-old husband may be the second-oldest.

But their ages have little to do with their status as parental figures for the U’s, fellow members say. Dana Courtney of Pinkard, Ala., said it is their loving natures that make the Marianna couple “like a mom and dad to me.”

The gathering at their home Saturday looked very much like a family reunion picnic. Burgers and hot dogs sizzled on the grill, the sound a backdrop to the constant chatter and laughter ringing through the yard.

The association members often ride long-distance tours together and sharing meals along the way is not uncommon.

But this wasn’t just another gathering. It was a mutual appreciation get-together to mark a milestone that was both devastating and at the same time a positive defining moment for the Cruisin’ U’s family.

In part, it was a way for the club to honor Mr. and Mrs. Hussey. The group made Mr. Hussey a special “Hot Stuff” grill master apron to wear at the cook-out, and a special “Sweet Miss Sue” T-shirt for Mrs. Hussey.

But in part, the cook-out was also a way for Mr. and Mrs. Hussey to say thanks for something their fellow club members did for them almost four years ago.
On Sept. 15, 2004, Mr. Hussey was carefully monitoring the weather channel as a storm approached Jackson County.

When he heard a tornado and been spotted and was headed for Marianna, he woke his wife from a nap. Just as she got out of bed, the walls of their home started bulging outward and the tornado spun onto their property.

“It sounded like 400 jets coming over, all firing cannons,” Mr. Hussey said. “Then a huge pecan tree from our backyard came through the house. It breached the foundation, and it was so big that a 20-inch chain saw couldn’t cut all the way through it.”

Their small wood-frame home was essentially destroyed, and every tree in their yard was uprooted.

In the aftermath of the tornado, Mr. Hussey surveyed the the overturned magnolia, the oak, the four other pecan trees, and the the smashed washer/drier set on the back side of the house.

Numbly, he reached for his phone. He called a fellow member of the Cruisin’ U’s.

“I made one phone call to him, and for the next three or four weekends, I had 30 to 40 people here helping us clean up,” Hussey said. “Some of them took a whole week off to help. Four or five of them went out and bought new chain-saws.”

Four years later, the memory of that dedication still made his eyes well up with emotion.

Mrs. Hussey said the women in the Cruisin’ U’s became her heroes that day.

“I was not exactly in shock, but I was just numb. They came and packed my stuff for me and put it in a shed.”

Was she surprised at how they pitched in and took over in the aftermath of the storm?

“From that group, no. It was no surprise to me. That’s they way they are, it’s what they’d do,” Mrs. Hussey said.
Dana and Bobby Courtney brought their camper down from Alabama for the couple to live in while they cleaned up the property and looked for permanent housing.

Courtney and other friends in the Cruisin’ U’s say that, had this happened to someone else instead, Mr. and Mrs. Hussey would have been among the first to react, reach out and help. Their helping spirit and kindness are well-known aspects of their personalities, part and parcel of who they are, their friends say.

Eventually, they bought a mobile home and set it down in place of their wrecked wood-frame. There’s one remnant of the old house – a piece of slab from the part of the foundation that lay near the front door. It’s a visible reminder of the crisis as well as the the more pleasant memories the couple built together before their home was destroyed.

Just as the slab provides a tangible but static reminder, Saturday’s party was a living, breathing testament to the love that unites this family-by-choice.