Man, I feel for those people in Florida. The storms that ripped apart their communities last week were vicious – and quick.
The severe storms that produced the 3 deadly tornados happened in the wee hours of the morning when most people are still sleeping, getting those last few zzzz’s. Nor did they know, until it was too late, that the noise they heard was not the alarm going off signaling the start to a new day. Most only had minutes to find shelter.
This scenario is a big fear of mine. Don’t get me wrong, I love thunderstorms and everything about them, the noise, the smell of rain, the vivid lightening. BUT, I only love them when I know that they won’t produce tornados.
I’ve been frightened as well as fascinated by severe storms as long as I can remember. As a young girl I clearly remember hovering in the southwest corner of our basement with my brother, 2 sisters and two dogs. (I also remember looking at that same corner as an adult wondering how the HELL we all got into that little space). I remember one time, running to our neighbor’s house because the police were going around the neighborhood telling everyone to take cover and our parents were at Safeway getting groceries. We were scared witless and yet we got into trouble for leaving the house. (I remember thinking a lot of things at the time that happened most of which can’t be put into print and still to this day think we got a raw deal on that one.) I also remember a time where my dad got upset with Fun House Pizza (they make the BEST pizza EVER) because they wouldn’t deliver during a tornado warning! I remember on our honeymoon, winds so strong from the thunderstorm that the trees were bent in half and howled for hours (not much of a mood-maker for me!).Not all are bad memories though. I recall a time that my mom was running through the house, throwing robes at us three girls yelling “get to the basement”! We got to stay up and watch this movie about these “blog-type” monsters on this ship. They had balloons on their feet and it was scary as hell but oh so cool! I can remember being in my mobile home in Minneapolis when a tornado went through and my dad talked to me on the phone for 3 hours to keep me calm (that bill sucked big time!), and on the day we signed the papers to our new home in Owasso, Okalahoma a tornado formed right above our new house.
Really, anyone who has lived in the Midwest has these kinds of stories. And there isn’t any one time that scared the bee-geebies out of me bad enough to develop a phobia so I’m not sure why I have one.
I think the biggest fear is something like what happened in Florida. Middle of the night, it’s dark and can’t see it until it’s too late. My house has a tall tree line on the west side of our property so we can’t see anything coming here so that doesn’t help and I live in a house that doesn’t have a basement – but I’ll have one next time for sure!
You can’t live your life in “What if….” mode and I try not to do that when it comes to these storms. Most of the time it isn’t to difficult. In the 15 years I’ve lived here we’ve only had 3 tornados that were close enough to worry about. Oh and one “wind sheer” (burst of wind coming straight down) that didn’t produce a lot of damage to my home (thankfully). So I guess I can “suck it up” once every 5 years or so and brave the big bad storms!
4 comments:
Having lived on the edge of a couple of "Tornado Alleys", the best advice I can offer anybody is if you find yourself under a warning or a watch...grab a WORKING flashlight, some good batteries for same, a battery-run radio, your kids, dogs, some bottled water and a mattress and everybody head for the downstairs bathroom. Put the kids in the tub and cover them with the mattress when you hear the wind pickin'up. If it starts to sound like a train, get in there with them. Just hang out in the tub til the storm passes.
When I went into Wichita Falls in '79 with the 2nd wave of responders, I saw entire neighborhoods gone! Except for the bathrooms. And standing aquariums with the fish swimming merrily back and forth. A Liquor store, walls and roof blown into Oklahoma, but the bottles were intact on the shelves, and a tribute to law enforcement that they were still there, I might add.
Also, if you have time, and room, take your family pics into the bathroom with you. All that other stuff can be replaced, but you can't replace those pics.
Oh. My. Gawd. I REMEMBER that movie! On that old, old TV downstairs? What did they call them, console TVs? I think it was B/W, wasn't it?
And if YOU had just call the folks on their cell phone, WE wouldn't have gotten in trouble for skeddadling!
Personally, I want a wine/bomb/storm cellar. Enough wine and you don't remember why your there.
LOVE the idea DW! I'll keep that in mind - I like you're thinkin'!
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