Monday, April 30, 2007

QOTW: We're not in Kansas anymore!

Conventional wisdom tells us to always follow our instincts . . . but sometimes I can’t help myself. Every time I hear our neighborhood tornado sirens blaring, I have to go outside for a look!


(Don't worry! I didn't see this twister in person - I just copied the photo off of Wikipedia for aesthetic purposes!)


While everyone else is running for shelter, I’m the one in the back yard peeking over the top of my fence to see if an F5 twister is coming down my road.

Meanwhile, my sweet dear wife is yelling at me from a room with no windows and located in the middle of our house!

I’m not for sure why, but tornadoes inspire more curiosity than fear for me.

And it’s not like I’ve never had any close calls. I actually slept through one when I was younger. It hit the neighborhood next to us, skipped ours, hit our church, skipped over the highway, hit the next two neighborhoods and then my high school though it didn’t do enough damage to cancel classes – D’oh!

I hate to pick on my mother-in-law . . . buuuut, I never seen someone so glued to The Weather Channel anytime so much as a low pressure system moves through North Texas. I’m sure it has to do with her west coast up-bringing – and all she had to worry about was the occasional western seaboard re-arranging earthquake.

Granted, north Texas thunderstorms are a little nerve-racking if you’re not used to them, so I guess I can’t blame her.

Oh, well – at least the tumultuous spring season provides plenty of business for all the friendly independent contractors between here and Florida - and from the number of flyers I have stuck in my front door, each one of them apparently thinks I need a new roof!

Don’t call me – I’ll call you!__________________________________________________________

"Which natural disaster do you fear the most?"

Total votes: 14

Tornado: 11 votes, 78%

Earthquake: 2 votes, 14%

Hurricane: 1 vote, 7%

Blizzard: 0 votes

3 comments:

Phylemon said...

I'm right with you, Wade. Growing up on the Eastern Seaboard of Virginia, every year we would get a big Hurricane watch. I would watch people boarding up windows and stocking up on swupplies, and then every year the hurricane would make a dramatic North or South turn and miss us entirely. It is therefore engrained in me that "Weather events" are far more hype than harm. I remember getting into a big knock down drag out argument with my boss at the ACU Bookstore because my shift ended and he wouldn't let me go because there had been a tornado sighting! I was convinced that he was either a cowardly wimp or trying to trick me into overtime.

On your current question of the week, I'm strongly tempted to mark the middle seat, but since I have some power over that, I'm going to say rude flight attendants. As someone with fairly long arms and legs and a penchant for sitting in the aisles, I can't tell you how many times I have been bashed in one of these extremities by the drink cart, only to have an attendant look over her shoulder unapologetically and say, "Watch your elbow!"

Keri said...

I love me a good storm as long as it is about 30+ miles away!! :)

Wade said...

Hey Phylemon,

There have only been a few storms that have given me cause to be truly worried - and those cases were because I was in a car with no where to pull over and find shelter. If a tornado comes then a tornado comes - it's not like there's much anyone can do about it.

I scored the holy grail of seats on a recent trip - aisle seat on the exit row! It's like First Class at Coach prices . . . too bad it was still on an American Airlines flight!
_______________________________

Hey Keri,

I agree. I actually like a good thunderstorm at night. The rain lulls me to sleep - I don't hear the thunder because I'm half deaf and lightning doesn't bother me. Plus, everything outside is so 'clean' and calm when you wake up!

"I love a rainy night!"

Thanks for stopping by,

W