Take Cover Now- The Tornado

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.

Tornado warning (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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By Joshua Wilner

Hi, I am Josh Wilner and I am happy that you have decided to visit my corner of cyberspace. I am a writer/marketer/friend and family man. My professional background includes more than twenty years in working with businesses to help them do a better job of connecting with their existing and prospective customers. More specifically I have worked with companies of all sizes from the Fortune 500 to the new start up to help them build, develop and grow their social media and marketing plans. I love spending time with my family and friends. I enjoy music, reading, writing, playing sports and laughing.

8 comments

  1. 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!

    Reply
    1. TheJackB – Someone complained that this page doesn’t tell you what to expect to find here in this blog so I aim to rectify this with the next line. I am a father who writes about life, parenting, business, politics and fiction. I don’t use an editorial calendar because I don’t map out what I am going to write that far in advance. The primary focus will be on things that relate to children and parenting. But the nifty thing about that is that encompasses a wide range of things. Sometimes I work with companies on their PR/Marketing efforts. If they provide products or services I will disclose it. Here is an incomplete list of companies that I am currently or have recently worked with: Nintendo, Philips Norelco, Subway, Frigidaire and Mattel. Want to know more about me, keep reading. If I wanted to provide a professional description it would looks similar to this: Jack has a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from California State University Northridge. He has been writing for print and web publications for more than twenty years, covering a wide range of topics including: business, technology, parenting, politics, education, sports and religion. That is far too serious so I prefer to use something like: The Jack B. is a writer and author of 39 unpublished books and three screenplays. A former athlete and would be superhero he still fights for truth, justice and the American Way. Though he may look like a grown man, don’t fool yourself he is still a boy at heart. When he is not engaged in Walter Mitty like fantasies he is a husband, father and friend and blogs at TheJackB. Hmm…obviously I have since moved from Random Thoughts over to this place, but that is ok. This page is a work in progress which is a good description for me. I’ll probably tweak this on a regular basis so feel free to keep checking back in because you never know what might show up. I am a prolific writer and update frequently so don’t forget to scroll down the page to see what nugget of wisdom you just might have missed. Here is a short selection of posts to get you started. A Father Describes Parenting A Father’s Burden How Sister’s Helped to Train A Father of “Daddy’s Girl” Inside the Blogger’s Studio- A Dream, Er Nightmare The GermoPhobe What I Dream About I am In Love Becoming a Dad Dad’s Most Important Job A Decade of Dad Grandpa Donuts Why Your Post Sucks and Everyone Hates Your Blog A Letter To My Children- Things That Matter A Letter To My Children-2011 Dad Balances Fear Versus Reality Q&A With Daddy Blogger JackB Save The Last Dance For Me- 75 Years of Marriage An Uncertain Certainty Four Generations & A Wedding The Best Thing My Father Ever Said To Me 1 Foolproof Way To Become a Better Writer The Story Of A House- The Final Days He Died A Hero Twenty-Five Links That Will Make You A Better Writer/Blogger Thanks for coming by, I hope you like it. If you want to reach me use the contact form or try talk-to-jacknow-at-gmail-dotcom You can also find more information by clicking About Me and reading my profile there. Also, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter using the form on the top right hand side of the page.
      Josh says:

      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.

      Reply
  2. Adrienne – Houston, TX – Adrienne Smith's passion has always been to help others. She started having tremendous success with her blog in early 2011 and over time she's built an awesome community. She teaches others how to do the same in her course, “Build a Blog Community”. She currently consults with entrepreneurs to help them understand what's missing and why they aren't succeeding.
    Adrienne says:

    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

    Reply
    1. TheJackB – Someone complained that this page doesn’t tell you what to expect to find here in this blog so I aim to rectify this with the next line. I am a father who writes about life, parenting, business, politics and fiction. I don’t use an editorial calendar because I don’t map out what I am going to write that far in advance. The primary focus will be on things that relate to children and parenting. But the nifty thing about that is that encompasses a wide range of things. Sometimes I work with companies on their PR/Marketing efforts. If they provide products or services I will disclose it. Here is an incomplete list of companies that I am currently or have recently worked with: Nintendo, Philips Norelco, Subway, Frigidaire and Mattel. Want to know more about me, keep reading. If I wanted to provide a professional description it would looks similar to this: Jack has a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from California State University Northridge. He has been writing for print and web publications for more than twenty years, covering a wide range of topics including: business, technology, parenting, politics, education, sports and religion. That is far too serious so I prefer to use something like: The Jack B. is a writer and author of 39 unpublished books and three screenplays. A former athlete and would be superhero he still fights for truth, justice and the American Way. Though he may look like a grown man, don’t fool yourself he is still a boy at heart. When he is not engaged in Walter Mitty like fantasies he is a husband, father and friend and blogs at TheJackB. Hmm…obviously I have since moved from Random Thoughts over to this place, but that is ok. This page is a work in progress which is a good description for me. I’ll probably tweak this on a regular basis so feel free to keep checking back in because you never know what might show up. I am a prolific writer and update frequently so don’t forget to scroll down the page to see what nugget of wisdom you just might have missed. Here is a short selection of posts to get you started. A Father Describes Parenting A Father’s Burden How Sister’s Helped to Train A Father of “Daddy’s Girl” Inside the Blogger’s Studio- A Dream, Er Nightmare The GermoPhobe What I Dream About I am In Love Becoming a Dad Dad’s Most Important Job A Decade of Dad Grandpa Donuts Why Your Post Sucks and Everyone Hates Your Blog A Letter To My Children- Things That Matter A Letter To My Children-2011 Dad Balances Fear Versus Reality Q&A With Daddy Blogger JackB Save The Last Dance For Me- 75 Years of Marriage An Uncertain Certainty Four Generations & A Wedding The Best Thing My Father Ever Said To Me 1 Foolproof Way To Become a Better Writer The Story Of A House- The Final Days He Died A Hero Twenty-Five Links That Will Make You A Better Writer/Blogger Thanks for coming by, I hope you like it. If you want to reach me use the contact form or try talk-to-jacknow-at-gmail-dotcom You can also find more information by clicking About Me and reading my profile there. Also, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter using the form on the top right hand side of the page.
      Josh says:

      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.

      Reply

  3. 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

    Reply
    1. TheJackB – Someone complained that this page doesn’t tell you what to expect to find here in this blog so I aim to rectify this with the next line. I am a father who writes about life, parenting, business, politics and fiction. I don’t use an editorial calendar because I don’t map out what I am going to write that far in advance. The primary focus will be on things that relate to children and parenting. But the nifty thing about that is that encompasses a wide range of things. Sometimes I work with companies on their PR/Marketing efforts. If they provide products or services I will disclose it. Here is an incomplete list of companies that I am currently or have recently worked with: Nintendo, Philips Norelco, Subway, Frigidaire and Mattel. Want to know more about me, keep reading. If I wanted to provide a professional description it would looks similar to this: Jack has a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from California State University Northridge. He has been writing for print and web publications for more than twenty years, covering a wide range of topics including: business, technology, parenting, politics, education, sports and religion. That is far too serious so I prefer to use something like: The Jack B. is a writer and author of 39 unpublished books and three screenplays. A former athlete and would be superhero he still fights for truth, justice and the American Way. Though he may look like a grown man, don’t fool yourself he is still a boy at heart. When he is not engaged in Walter Mitty like fantasies he is a husband, father and friend and blogs at TheJackB. Hmm…obviously I have since moved from Random Thoughts over to this place, but that is ok. This page is a work in progress which is a good description for me. I’ll probably tweak this on a regular basis so feel free to keep checking back in because you never know what might show up. I am a prolific writer and update frequently so don’t forget to scroll down the page to see what nugget of wisdom you just might have missed. Here is a short selection of posts to get you started. A Father Describes Parenting A Father’s Burden How Sister’s Helped to Train A Father of “Daddy’s Girl” Inside the Blogger’s Studio- A Dream, Er Nightmare The GermoPhobe What I Dream About I am In Love Becoming a Dad Dad’s Most Important Job A Decade of Dad Grandpa Donuts Why Your Post Sucks and Everyone Hates Your Blog A Letter To My Children- Things That Matter A Letter To My Children-2011 Dad Balances Fear Versus Reality Q&A With Daddy Blogger JackB Save The Last Dance For Me- 75 Years of Marriage An Uncertain Certainty Four Generations & A Wedding The Best Thing My Father Ever Said To Me 1 Foolproof Way To Become a Better Writer The Story Of A House- The Final Days He Died A Hero Twenty-Five Links That Will Make You A Better Writer/Blogger Thanks for coming by, I hope you like it. If you want to reach me use the contact form or try talk-to-jacknow-at-gmail-dotcom You can also find more information by clicking About Me and reading my profile there. Also, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter using the form on the top right hand side of the page.
      Josh says:

      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.

      Reply
  4. lori – Canada – I love figuring it all out and finding I was wrong, changing my mind, learning that I can get excited again about something I thought I was moving away from; changing life-long habits. Mostly I love my husband and my children; watching us all grow through the changes of life, family reunions and celebrations with a good bottle of port and a shrimp ring.
    Lori Gosselin says:

    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

    Reply
    1. TheJackB – Someone complained that this page doesn’t tell you what to expect to find here in this blog so I aim to rectify this with the next line. I am a father who writes about life, parenting, business, politics and fiction. I don’t use an editorial calendar because I don’t map out what I am going to write that far in advance. The primary focus will be on things that relate to children and parenting. But the nifty thing about that is that encompasses a wide range of things. Sometimes I work with companies on their PR/Marketing efforts. If they provide products or services I will disclose it. Here is an incomplete list of companies that I am currently or have recently worked with: Nintendo, Philips Norelco, Subway, Frigidaire and Mattel. Want to know more about me, keep reading. If I wanted to provide a professional description it would looks similar to this: Jack has a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from California State University Northridge. He has been writing for print and web publications for more than twenty years, covering a wide range of topics including: business, technology, parenting, politics, education, sports and religion. That is far too serious so I prefer to use something like: The Jack B. is a writer and author of 39 unpublished books and three screenplays. A former athlete and would be superhero he still fights for truth, justice and the American Way. Though he may look like a grown man, don’t fool yourself he is still a boy at heart. When he is not engaged in Walter Mitty like fantasies he is a husband, father and friend and blogs at TheJackB. Hmm…obviously I have since moved from Random Thoughts over to this place, but that is ok. This page is a work in progress which is a good description for me. I’ll probably tweak this on a regular basis so feel free to keep checking back in because you never know what might show up. I am a prolific writer and update frequently so don’t forget to scroll down the page to see what nugget of wisdom you just might have missed. Here is a short selection of posts to get you started. A Father Describes Parenting A Father’s Burden How Sister’s Helped to Train A Father of “Daddy’s Girl” Inside the Blogger’s Studio- A Dream, Er Nightmare The GermoPhobe What I Dream About I am In Love Becoming a Dad Dad’s Most Important Job A Decade of Dad Grandpa Donuts Why Your Post Sucks and Everyone Hates Your Blog A Letter To My Children- Things That Matter A Letter To My Children-2011 Dad Balances Fear Versus Reality Q&A With Daddy Blogger JackB Save The Last Dance For Me- 75 Years of Marriage An Uncertain Certainty Four Generations & A Wedding The Best Thing My Father Ever Said To Me 1 Foolproof Way To Become a Better Writer The Story Of A House- The Final Days He Died A Hero Twenty-Five Links That Will Make You A Better Writer/Blogger Thanks for coming by, I hope you like it. If you want to reach me use the contact form or try talk-to-jacknow-at-gmail-dotcom You can also find more information by clicking About Me and reading my profile there. Also, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter using the form on the top right hand side of the page.
      Josh says:

      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.

      Reply

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