Yesterday I was reading an article on CNN about the tornados that have been tearing up the southeastern part of the country. Any time I hear about tornados or see the pictures of the damage they leave behind, I am reminded of a dark and terrifying night in 1965. I was just nine years old. We lived in a farm house that had been condemned at one time, but had been rented to us because we were destitute and because my father had the know how to refurbish it and make it livable. It was two stories, six bedrooms, eleven rooms in all. The attic was filled with bats (yeah I know, here come the jokes) and the cellar was really just a hole in the ground with an ancient furnace, dirt floors and a stair case that lead outside.
I remember the skies turning a strange shade of green and the air seemed super charged with what felt like static electricity. My dad looked worried. He had seen this before. Being raised in Kansas, he knew the signs.
I had been out swinging on the swings in the back yard when he came out and told me we had to go down to the cellar. He pointed out something in the distance and asked if I could see it. I said, yes, but really all I saw was storm clouds. I didn’t have any idea what a tornado liked like, but I knew there was fear in his voice.
He ushered my brother and mother and me down the stairs and into the correct corner of the cellar. I remember worrying about my Barbie dolls and my brother wanting some other toy he was fond of. We weren’t permitted to go get them, we were strictly told to sit still between them and not even think about what was upstairs.
I had seen a lot of thunderstorms. Minnesota was a great place for super cells and violent storms. But this was different. The radio had been on for a while and I had heard of tornados all around us. I knew that this was nothing like the storms we had had before. This one had my mother’s eyes wide and terrified. There had been talk of storms in other towns near us. I seem to remember having heard that a tornado was able to take your house away sometimes and I was horrified at the thought of going back up the stairs and finding nothing but sky.
We no more got huddled into the corner than the sky went black. The view from our position was straight out the stairway that led to our side yard. There was a huge tree just outside the stairway. We could see the wind bending it like a blade of grass. The sky was so dark that every lightning strike lit up the tree and made it took like it had been electrified. Debris flew by the doorway and we could hear trees breaking and things crashing around in the yard.
The rain fell sideways; then the hail fell sideways. If felt like the whole world had gone insane and we were going to be swept away in it all. I had never been so afraid of nature or in awe of its fury.
We were blessed. When the storm calmed we climbed the steps and found our house in tact. My Barbie dolls were still there. Our little beds were still there. But I remember it was a restless night. I doubt my parents slept. Storms still pummeled the area and the lightning didn’t seem to ever stop.
I don’t remember if it was the next day or a few days later, but my dad took us in the car to see the town of Fridley. I was shocked by the devastation. I remember one house where all that was left was a door frame and a staircase. There was another house with nothing but a toilet standing. Many houses were completely gone and the basements were just holes in the ground. I heard a story about a family that had been sitting in their basement when the house was lifted off the foundation and their family car had been dropped into the basement with the family. They watched as the car bounced off the walls around them and finally came to rest. Fortunately, it didn’t harm them.
So as I’m reading this account of the tornados in the southeast, I was wondering if there was anything on the internet about the tornado I remembered. Wow. I was amazed. Apparently the tornado I lived through was one of six tornadoes that hit the area on the same night. There are several sights and even a Facebook page on the Night of the Tornados. I guess I was not alone in my trauma that night. Thirteen people lost their lives in the area. Many were injured.
So I pray for those who have been traumatized by the fury of nature. I take comfort in the God who is far more powerful than any old wind. Lord, have mercy of those who have died and on those who mourn their loss. Comfort your people, Lord.
I remember the skies turning a strange shade of green and the air seemed super charged with what felt like static electricity. My dad looked worried. He had seen this before. Being raised in Kansas, he knew the signs.
I had been out swinging on the swings in the back yard when he came out and told me we had to go down to the cellar. He pointed out something in the distance and asked if I could see it. I said, yes, but really all I saw was storm clouds. I didn’t have any idea what a tornado liked like, but I knew there was fear in his voice.
He ushered my brother and mother and me down the stairs and into the correct corner of the cellar. I remember worrying about my Barbie dolls and my brother wanting some other toy he was fond of. We weren’t permitted to go get them, we were strictly told to sit still between them and not even think about what was upstairs.
I had seen a lot of thunderstorms. Minnesota was a great place for super cells and violent storms. But this was different. The radio had been on for a while and I had heard of tornados all around us. I knew that this was nothing like the storms we had had before. This one had my mother’s eyes wide and terrified. There had been talk of storms in other towns near us. I seem to remember having heard that a tornado was able to take your house away sometimes and I was horrified at the thought of going back up the stairs and finding nothing but sky.
We no more got huddled into the corner than the sky went black. The view from our position was straight out the stairway that led to our side yard. There was a huge tree just outside the stairway. We could see the wind bending it like a blade of grass. The sky was so dark that every lightning strike lit up the tree and made it took like it had been electrified. Debris flew by the doorway and we could hear trees breaking and things crashing around in the yard.
The rain fell sideways; then the hail fell sideways. If felt like the whole world had gone insane and we were going to be swept away in it all. I had never been so afraid of nature or in awe of its fury.
We were blessed. When the storm calmed we climbed the steps and found our house in tact. My Barbie dolls were still there. Our little beds were still there. But I remember it was a restless night. I doubt my parents slept. Storms still pummeled the area and the lightning didn’t seem to ever stop.
I don’t remember if it was the next day or a few days later, but my dad took us in the car to see the town of Fridley. I was shocked by the devastation. I remember one house where all that was left was a door frame and a staircase. There was another house with nothing but a toilet standing. Many houses were completely gone and the basements were just holes in the ground. I heard a story about a family that had been sitting in their basement when the house was lifted off the foundation and their family car had been dropped into the basement with the family. They watched as the car bounced off the walls around them and finally came to rest. Fortunately, it didn’t harm them.
So as I’m reading this account of the tornados in the southeast, I was wondering if there was anything on the internet about the tornado I remembered. Wow. I was amazed. Apparently the tornado I lived through was one of six tornadoes that hit the area on the same night. There are several sights and even a Facebook page on the Night of the Tornados. I guess I was not alone in my trauma that night. Thirteen people lost their lives in the area. Many were injured.
So I pray for those who have been traumatized by the fury of nature. I take comfort in the God who is far more powerful than any old wind. Lord, have mercy of those who have died and on those who mourn their loss. Comfort your people, Lord.
1 comments:
Guess what? I was in Atlanta, going through the Museum. I came outside and the rain was falling so hard, the wind was a'blowin...but we are from California and know NOTHING so we drove back to Phenix City, marvelling at how close the lightening seemed to be and blah blah blah...turned on the tv and discovered we had driven through the tail end of the tornado....lolol...
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