April 4, 2011 was my first experience with the justice system in Tennessee. I was selected to serve on the grand jury that day. Not wanting a rubberstamp grand jury, I made it a point to actively fulfill my duty to ferret out the relevant facts of each case presented. After a morning of hearing a number of cases we recessed for lunch. At around 1:20 PM a tornado struck the courthouse in Waverly. It sounded like machine gun fire hitting the windows. We all took cover downstairs. After it passed by the damage was surveyed. Metal roofing, wood framing, and other mangled debris was scattered in every direction. Several cars were impaled by nail-spiked boards that were projected like missiles. Amazingly, no one was killed. The property damage was significant though. People were crying and distraught. Despite being parked in one of the worst hit areas, my car received not a scratch. The other jurors were not so fortunate. In all my years living in Humphreys County I can't think of another time that the courthouse was hit by a tornado. After I got home, word was received of Governor McWherter's passing due to cancer. He left this world around the time the tornado hit the courthouse. He was a great governor who was a true ally of the people.