Monday, May 23, 2011

Storms

It's a sad and strange day. There was a tornado a couple of hours from here in a town I've been to a few times. Actually, one of the bands I played with the other week is from Joplin, Mo. and I've been thinking of them today. I could see the back end of the storm late afternoon yesterday as I stood in a sun-filled backyard, and I kept thinking how stark and black the clouds looked in comparison to the rest of the sky. I wondered if it was going to turn bad. Just Saturday night I had to wake up the whole house to go down to the basement when the sirens went off. Julia was frightened but I told her we were lucky to have a basement as I wrapped her in blankets and led her downstairs. Liam slept through the whole thing. I carried him down and placed him on the old couch.

Tomorrow looks to be a bad day with a high risk for storms in our area. But for now, all I can think of is Joplin and all the people who live there, and those who died. There's something about how when a disaster happens somewhere else in the world, you feel compassion and concern, but it's distant. When it happens close, you feel it in your bones. It's people you know, and places you've been.

I'm thinking of you Joplin. You're in my heart today.

6 comments:

  1. You mean that people died there? That sounds like SOME storm! Terrible.

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  2. Yes, it's been reported about 89 deaths so far. A mile wide tornado.

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  3. Keep safe Amy. Don't go too far from that basement.

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  4. We have high winds here at the moment, but no tornadoes. A light breeze by comparison. Keep off the yellow brick road.

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  5. Thanks everyone, yes, I'll definitely stick close to home tomorrow. Summer vacation (for the kids at least!) started this afternoon, but no park outings will be planned at the moment.

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