The extreme weather alert came in about 38 minutes or so ago, I am not really sure. It said there is a tornado warning until 8:45 and that we should take cover.
It was an interesting moment for me. I know natural disasters. I have been through multiple earthquakes of assorted sizes and been evacuated from a forest fire but I haven’t much experience with tornadoes.
Years ago my friend Daniel and I drove across country and during the way into Kansas we heard a warning over the radio, but we never did see anything.
Confession
After I received the text I walked outside and looked up a black sky and listened for the sound of a train bearing down on me. I don’t know for certain if that is what it sounds like, but it is what I expect.
Then I thought about my kids and wondered what I would do if I saw that funnel cloud coming. Where would I go here? How would I protect myself? What should I do?
Earthquakes are what I know. I can tell you what to do and how to protect yourself. I can tell you about how I viewed them as an E-Ticket ride, until the Northridge quake that is.
Northridge was big and it woke me up. I saw what it did to places I knew well. Old Mother Nature busted us in the chops with that one and I recognized how small and insignificant we are.
The Big Show
I am not scared or frightened now, although I will admit that I haven’t showered yet. I spent 40 minutes on the elliptical at the gym and was a giant ball of sweat.
The plan had been to get into the shower but when I got the message I decided to wait until after the alert had passed. Even though I am not entirely sure where I would go I figured I would rather be dressed than caught naked in the shower.
It might sound ridiculous to you, but if a tornado hit while I was in the shower I would end up on being the naked guy on the evening news. I don’t have the washboard abs and hard body I had some years back but it is not really vanity that kept me from jumping in.
Nah, it was for my childrens’ sake.
I didn’t want them to be teased because their dad was the naked guy who ended on the news and was immortalized on YouTube.
Death
I am not afraid of dying. Honestly, it is not something I worry about. One day it will happen and that will be it.
My apologies to my parents, I hope this doesn’t upset you because I know what the thought of something happening to my kids does to me. But this is different.
Your fathers and I spoke about this more than a few times so I suppose some of their influence rubbed off on them. Granted, they were in their nineties so their perspective was different, but it is what it is.
Nah, I don’t fear or worry about death. If you asked me to list the ways I don’t want to die I can tell you that being burned and or eaten alive bother me, but that is a different topic.
Anyhoo, I suppose death crept into my head more because another friend lost a parent this week and because of the tornado.
The Stormwalker
I kid around sometimes about storms following my footsteps and how I have become the stormwalker, but it is not necessarily something I prefer. And more to the point of death I was thinking about it more from the perspective of my kids.
Those little rascals have got a lot of growing up to do and I am not ready to check out and miss out on that. At some point my ability to follow their story will end but since I am going to be 130 I have a few years to go.
By that point in time they’ll know enough to take care of themselves, but now would be bad.
I have too much to teach them.
And now it is time to double check the batteries in my flashlights, not that I am really worried because my father’s crazy list making Virgo nature was beaten into my skull. I mean that in the kindest sense dad, the batteries are fresh and the flashlights are around where I can get to them.
Be good all.
That probably would have even made the news in the UK; a naked guy out and about in a tornado! 🙂
I’m glad we don’t get them too often in the UK and earthquakes.
The weather’s sure been a little strange here lately though. The gulf stream keeps heading south and at that point we’re all frozen!
Hi Tim,
I just realized I haven’t a clue as to whether you have earthquakes or tornadoes. Well, that is not true. Earthquakes happen everywhere because of plate tectonics, but the size and scope are varied.
I hear Scotland can be pretty cold to begin with, so I can imagine what it is like when you say the gulf stream is heading south.
Glad it didn’t hit your immediate area Josh and that you lived to see another day and blog about it.
I’ve never been through an earthquake, just hurricanes and tornadoes myself. Yep, I’m a Texan and that’s the part of Mother Nature we have to endure.
I had to laugh about you being the naked guy on YouTube because if that had happened some idiot would be out there filming it so they could say they caught it on tape and then you would be the news more then the storm. How sad has that become of our news today.
Just glad you’re okay and made it out. I’m sure your family is as well.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne,
I haven’t been through hurricanes but earthquakes, fires and now tornadoes. Hopefully I won’t have to say more than I have had to deal with warnings.
Yeah, naked guy on YouTube is a good sign of how crazy life has become. People get their 15 minutes of fame in the most ridiculous ways now.
Hi Josh
Well I was in the San Andres earthquake in 89 in SF area. That was very nerve shaking. Even one of my cats ended up with rattled nerves for weeks. But at least with an earthquake everything is pretty much in the same vicinity where you left it, not 5 miles down the road! I would not want to be flung up in the air flying around with who knows what at 120 miles an hour… Give me an earthquake any day!
Sure we all are going to die someday, but I would rather it be going to bed one night and never waking up again. Pain and panic is not my style.
So do you have a basement or tornado shelter in the building. If I had to live in a place with a lot of tornadoes, I think maybe I would live under ground or build a tornado shelter type house. But then what do you do when you are out and about? I was wondering the other day is there any safe time of the year to visit certain states. Either tornadoes, hailstones, flash floods, or snow, oh yeah then there is the time of year with high heat and high humidity. Shall have to check my schedule… I think I prefer the west coast with the occasional earthquake.
I heard about the hailstones in Texas, did you get any?
Mary
Hi Mary,
The World Series quake. I remember that one. I like the idea of earthquakes better. You don’t know they are coming and you don’t worry about whether they will hit your house or not.
You just make sure you are prepared as best you can and go from there.
We did have hail, but it wasn’t too bad by my place.
Did it arrive Josh? Was there a tornado? I think it would be a scary thing to have those in my area. Earthquakes, too, are scary. You’re the stormwalker? I’d be the hide-in-the-basement one.with flashlights and canned goods 😉
Lori
Hi Lori,
It hit but fortunately it wasn’t close enough to me to cause any damage. Sadly some people were killed/injured and or lost many things. I am sorry for them, but glad it wasn’t me.