(Mobile, Ala.)
Thursday, Sonyia Johnson unlocked the door to her salon on Sage Avenue to reveal... nothing.The EF-1 tornado that ripped through seven miles of Mobile lifted her shop's roof and picked the business clean.
"It's hard to see this, it really is," she said that day. "It's just hard to see."
Twenty-four hours later, Sonyia is back behind the chair doing hair on one of her busiest days of the year.
She's back in business because of a competitor and her staff!
With so many customers depending on her, Sonyia swallowed her pride, walked into the Split Enz Salon on Springhill Avenue, and told owner Fran Battiste of her situation.
Fran and staff, already juggling a shop filled with customers, did something that salons do for their customers all the time.
They managed to "squeeze her in!"
"You could see disaster written all over her!" said Fran.
That act of kindness helped soften another blow Sonyia was about to endure, when her insurance company told her her salon's policy does not cover wind damage!
"But we're gonna be ok," she insisted.
So for now, the salon owner who was near her wit's ends, can be found at Split Enz on Springhill Avenue, thanks to kind hearts and very loyal customers!
And what does Fran Battiste expect to get from all of this?
He answer was quick and sure:
"A blessing from God!" she said.
