Commonplace Capers, No. 9
A week to remember. Walking last Saturday from my place of employment to meet up with my spouse when she would get off of work. (We are a one car family).
The phone lit up: tornado warning! Texts started pouring in. Where are you?
Now mind you, it was not raining but the clouds did have an ominous feel, not green, but ominous.
Anyways, then Judith called, she was at the cafe in town where she waitresses. The fire department had just been through and told everyone to shelter in place.
Now mind you, I am simply walking the two miles I often do into town to meet her. Hmmm. This is odd, we are in the Catskills, not Kansas.
Then over my left shoulder I heard the sound, just as the preparation warnings foretell, it will sound like a freight train. And it did: but a freight train amplified x 10, and not at all mechanical, if that even makes sense.
By the time I registered the true threat over my left shoulder, it was gone. I did not have time to even consider jumping into a ditch. But the drenching began, and in seconds it was as if I had jumped into the deep end of the pool with all my clothes on. I was soaked to the bone.
The hard rains continued as I ran the last quarter mile into town, and found Judith unharmed, but shaken. The car unharmed, but shaken. No life was lost, the property damage, mild compared to the twisters down south and in the mid west. But barns were flattened, roofs were lost, and cars destroyed.
NOAA says it was a T2, 115 miles an hour winds. It’s path about 15 miles long, 300 yards wide.
All I know is it was scary as scary can be.
The confusing part from the experiential perspective was this. I thought it came over my left shoulder and headed into the town of Roscoe down the valley to were it also touched down in Callicoon Center. It turns out it was the complete opposite. I was at the tail end. It came up the valley from Callicoon Center, hit in Roscoe and bounced over the hill to my left. But because it was spinning counter clockwise, I experienced the winds heading back toward town, even though the twister was leaving and heading north.
So, yeah. Eyewitness accounts can get things totally backwards, without fault or blame .
Yikes, scary!!
…just another day in paradise. 😉
Just a bit!
That would be quite the experience. Take care!
Memorable, and clearly, remarkable.
That, i suspect, is an understatement 😊🙏
Wow! I once watched a tornado pass overhead (many years ago) … will never forget how frightening that was. I’m happy that you and your wife were unharmed.
Thanks Terry, all our neighbors fared well.
Also great news, Richard!
Wow man, I’m so glad that you and your wife are safe, Richard! So scary. In 1968, I was 8 years young and heard a tornado nearby, it was the same sound you heard. Be well! 👍🏻🙏🏻
Thanks John. In the downpour, my phone, with it’s cracked screen “shit the bed,” as they say. Hence just getting back into connectivity.
Oh, bummer! I was wondering where you disappeared to. 😂
The main thingvis that your both safe. Shock is one of those things that happen so fast that our perspective can be different.
A cosmic summersault for sure.
So sorry this happened to you both and so glad you’re both okay. Mother Nature is angry with what we have done to the earth and rightly so but sorry you both were in it.
I’m glad to have been so close to a force so beyond the human, fortunate to not get hurt, but also fortunate to witness.
Glad to hear you lived to tell the tale Richard. That must have been so scary. I recall the one that went through our city in 1987, killing 27. Stay dry and stay safe. Allan
A power in the air that exceeds comprehension, for sure. Our minds can only process so much.
I really like the image you used to illustrate this post.
I’m glad you liked it. Thanks for letting me know.
Wow that was scary. I am so glad you are both fine. Catskills seems like a weird place for a Tornado. Three years ago a Tornado (F3) destroyed our neighborhood. Our house had damage that cost $50,000.00. But north Texas, where we live, is in Tornado Alley.🌪🌩
Wow! That’s a real direct hit. These winds and what they can do … I am speechless.
Holy cow! I am glad you, your wife, and transportation are physically unharmed. How scary!!!
Thanks for your words Nicole.
I’m so glad that you and Judith are okay. That must have been so scary. Your description put me right there in your town.
It’s a full seven days later and everyone here is only talking about one thing, the power of the wind.
❤️
❤️
So glad you guys came out of it unharmed. We do not have tornadoes here in Germany, strong winds yes, but nothing compared to the primal power you have over there.
…and my experience was not extreme as other parts of this continent experience. Thanks ks for your note.
Terrifying
Makes for a good tale.
Just a wee bit scary.
Scary is right Richard. I’m glad you’re ok!
💞🙏🏼
🙏
Good to hear that you yourself, your wife and community, are all okay.
Ok for now… 🙏
What a frightener! Pleased that you are on the right side of okay. All the best.
The whole town, literally, 4 out of 5 conversations revolve around the twister, these seven days later…
A small community like ours, in our own local rural town, has spoken of past traumatic events too. Some reflections lasting months to years. It helps provide a comfort factor of how you all react and have familiar emotions regarding the experience. Helps you make sense of your reactions and helps healing I should imagine. All the best Richard.
Oh, wow, Richard! That must have been terrifying at the time. Thank goodness you, Judith and all of your neighbours were all okay and that you didn’t sustain any lasting damage to yourselves or your home and car. What a fright, though, and it must have left you all very shaken up. In the UK, we don’t have hurricanes or tornadoes of that force; the strongest winds I have experienced have been about 80mph, although I believe other parts of the country had it worse.
I’m sorry I’ve been absent from your blog this and some of last week. I’ve been in London protesting to the government about their inaction regarding the climate emergency. There were 90,000 protesters, all very peaceful and with no trouble, but there was an almost complete lack of coverage in the media and the press. You can bet if there had been trouble, that would have made the headlines. As it is, the government hasn’t responded at all! It makes me fear for our futures, particularly those of the next generation 🌎.
However, I noticed on returning to WordPress and checking my emails that you hadn’t written anything during that time. Now I know why. Take good care of yourselves, Richard, 💙.
So glad to hear about the protests in London. Thanks for your update, so good to hear from you.
tornadoes are rare in Philadelphia, where I used to live, but I remember being on the phone one day with my sister in SE Michigan and she calmly said, “Oh, I have to go. the tornado siren is going off.” I was caught in a tornado in northern Michigan when I was a child; it was terrifying and taught me the destructive power of tornadoes. Glad you are safe.
Such a small widow to get to safety. They move fast. Thank you for your note.
My late father was born in 1906 in Callicoon in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. Rarely read about his hometown. Scary event this time around.
I live in Fremont, one town to the North.
What kind of plant is this
This is a peony just emerging from the ground
Wow, Richard, this sounds incredibly harrowing! I am trying to imagine having that experience on foot. I know I definitely would have run as fast as I could. I am so glad you both are well, my friend.
Before I could think to run, it was gone, and I was soaked … Hope you are well Stacey.
It is so strange, the same nature that make growing possible, make fall and fury all the same. And with the same beauty… seen from afar I mean.
Prenez-soin de vous, et soyez prudent.
💌💌
Life on earth, a wonder indeed. ❤️