Shipping containers ‘paradise’ for Tanner man 4 years after 2011 tornadoes
"I'm happy with no worries," he said. "I don't worry about health, a mortgage payment or other bills that people have. That makes me feel guilty."
The 20-by-8 1/2 -foot metal box Cosby calls his "paradise" has been home since a tornado packing winds in excess of 200 mph blew away everything he owned
It's the largest of four containers he says have functional purposes and put him in a position to help less fortunate people in the community. A smaller container serves as his bathroom, while another is a storage building. The one closest to his home is a workshop where Cosby, now retired, works on small engines and the aging trucks he drives.
"This is heaven," he said with a smile many in this southern
"He always seems like the happiest man on Earth," said
Cosby, 67, said he's living large when compared to the rice paddies and rubber plantations he called home as an infantryman during the Vietnam War.
"I have everything I need here," he said. "And to be honest with you, I have more than I need."
Many of his neighbors rebuilt homes. But Cosby, who also lost a home in the
"When I looked out and saw that everything was gone, I knew what I was going to do," he said.
The only thing remaining from four years ago is a block and concrete porch that also survived the 1974 tornado. The
Limestone County EMA Director
"But the batteries will run down when they sound several times," White said. "We encourage people to get weather radios and to not depend on the sirens as their only warning system."
Cosby has a weather radio. He said his plan is to no longer wait around or crawl under the concrete porch that offered refuge four years ago.
A shipping container he used as a storage building slammed into the porch in 2011, breaking several blocks and disconnecting the concrete slab on top.
Nearly all of his neighbors -- some of them family members -- rebuilt homes with safe rooms and have given Cosby the OK to come if weather gets bad.
"I'll be there," he said.
Roots run deep
Cosby said some of his friends left
Cosby, the only son of four children born to
Cosby, a son of the segregated South, helped feed the family with fish he caught in the nearby
His father gave him three options: attend college, pick a spot on the family land and build a home, or buy more equipment and expand the farm.
Cosby selected none of the above.
He opted for the
In
The pilot flew him to
The self-described "homesick country boy" said he was ready to come home, but not under these conditions. Cosby didn't return to
Seven years after his father's death, Cosby had his first experience with a tornado.
The 1974 tornado destroyed his five-bedroom home, and neighbors found him in a field with a 2-by-4 in his side. His injuries appeared so bad that emergency officials carried him to the
"My family never claimed me," he joked.
After the 1974 storm, a U.S.
Similar situation
Conditions of 2011 were "eerily similar" to 1974, Cosby said. He was alert all day, and at one point "dressed for the tornado" by wearing a bullet-resistant vest, construction helmet and safety glasses.
Weather sirens sounded several times during the day, but Cosby couldn't hear them because parts of southern
A co-worker called him about
He said "a stick whacked me across the butt" as he crawled under the porch.
Cosby worked for a company that rented and sold mobile containers in 2011. He has insurance, but he opted to purchase containers instead of rebuilding.
He has no regrets about his decision, saying it has put him in a position to "spend part of my little old retirement" carrying out God's command to help others.
"If you want to smile or feel good, help somebody," Cosby said.
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