Ride Out The Storm

​Anyone familiar with Midwest weather is familiar with tornadoes. Sometimes it’s a gentle breeze & sunshine. Other times, the wind rises, the sky darkens, & a terrible storm we never saw coming, nears. Many years ago, as a fourth grader, I remember a bright sunny day in May. After school, I went to church youth choir. My mother picked me up after the rehearsal and drove us home under dark threatening skies in the nick of time. Upon finding our safe spot in the southwest corner of our basement, we stood firm, anchored our feet down & rode out the storm.  Within a minute, our two-story home was lifted off its foundation and gone, utterly gone. Moments later, we climbed out of the basement to a landscape that was unrecognizable. For as far as my eyes could see, every house flattened, trees uprooted, & in the eerie quiet there was complete mayhem. This massive F5 tornado shaped my life! 

Read On

Left - Damage from the street I lived on.
​Right - The church I attended the youth choir about 15 minutes before the tornado hit.