The Storm Before The Calm

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, in the aftermath of the storms which went through the area, I had many different thoughts and maybe even an insight or two. Of course my first thoughts were to make sure Tonya and my family were safe, which they were, and then I hoped my friends on the Fire Department who I was sure were out there doing their jobs would all work safe. So in no particular order here are some of the things which have run through my mind.

I had no idea there were tornadoes in the area until I arrived home and put the television on. Even then, had the set been on something other than one of the Boston stations, I would not have known at all, as I was going to watch the baseball game. Since I never put the game on, I don’t know if there were any warnings or not, but I know there were none on the radio station I was listening to the game on my way home. Shouldn’t there have been?

Order this book from
Amazon Here

I remember when I used to travel extensively in the south, whenever there were tornado warnings, the radio would periodically send out alert signals as did the television stations. There was nothing like this here. Now, I realize that tornadoes are not regular occurrences here which could explain that, and the other, bigger question would be, if there had been would anyone have heeded them anyway?  Even when I saw there were warnings, I didn’t really think we would have a tornado. After all, we have had warnings before and nothing came of them. Besides, there were none of the classic signs I had always been told there should be before a tornado.

People, including Tonya, who have experienced tornadoes, have told me the sky will turn a very odd color, somewhere between green and orange. The first thing I did, was look to the west, which was the direction the tornadoes were supposed to be coming from, and the sky was grey, a light grey at that, honestly it didn’t even look like there would be a thunderstorm, never mind anything worse. There was thunder however, so I figured we would at least get a storm. However what was different, as I mentioned yesterday, was the lack of any air movement. Even when the rain started and the hail, there was no wind, which to be honest is when I began to sense something was wrong, that this wasn’t normal. Here in New England, we don’t have the ability to see very far, unlike the mid-west where you can sometimes see for miles, here there are hills and tall trees obstructing a view. The first twister touched down maybe a mile from me, and I saw nothing, the second was further but I could not see that one either. The second storm also raises this question: After my power went out, I didn’t know a second storm was so near, in fact I went outside between the storms, so how could I be notified?

When we were kids, two or three years ago, we always had at least one battery operated radio. I suppose it is time I find one soon, although I wonder if there were any warnings anyway. But even with that, I wasn’t taking the threat seriously, again, since we have had these warnings before, and nothing ever happened, I wouldn’t have turned the radio on until probably after the storm went by.  Lesson Learned: Take these things seriously and buy some batteries.

Next post: Questions about why I was spared any damage, is it because I have enough “testing” going on in my life already or was it just chance? If all this is part of God’s plan and it is His choice on who stays and who goes, how does he pick who goes and who doesn’t? In Joplin, 139 people were killed, was it truly all of their times and how was it determined it was?