A bit long ....
So today is the 39th anniversary of the Lubbock Tornado.
I knew it was going to be a strange day that day. I had been bragging to friends on the playground that since I was part Indian I could do an effective rain dance. I spun in circles like a dervish until I got into a strange head space, not just dizzy but actually altered. All the while I chanted in a mock native cadence that sounded about right to me. Later that afternoon the air took on a heavy feeling as the horned toads looked for cover.
That night my mom had dropped me off at an all night day care while she and my soon to be dad and his brother went to the movies. I had seen the news that evening and had told them I was worried about the storm warnings. My soon to be uncle and father assured me that it was no big deal.
I was 6 years old,so I believed what adults said. Much later that night the people who ran the center stormed into the big room we were all sleeping in. They snapped on the lights and gathered all the girls and took them into a storm shelter. They told us boys, all 4 of us that there just wasn't enough room below ground for all of us. Only years later did I remember this fact and realize the total BS of the situation. Anyway the man who was married to the woman who ran the daycare center told us to scoot to the corner and he threw a mattress over us.
I was on the outer edge of the mattress and lifted it up to see what was going on. Just as the man cleared the kitchen to go out the back door we could hear the sirens start up. A few moments later a low rumble mixed with a sharp howl started getting louder and louder. Two of the boys with me started to cry, the other boy started to pray. I however was exhilarated. I kept the mattress propped up so I could watch what was going on.
As luck would have it the area that house was in only took a glancing blow from the twister, although I was treated to the spectacle of a large Pecan tree crashing through the roof and cutting their house in half. It landed about nine feet from where I lay under the mattress.
Soon thereafter my mom and company picked me up. We made a circuitous journey back to the house due to all the debris in the road, mangled cars, parts of houses etc .... A ten minute drive took over an hour. After we got home the guys said goodnight and left. I was up early the next morning checking things out. My house suffered some fence damage and nothing more. My friend Ricky across the street and two doors down lost most of his roof.
Later the next day we went through the closets and got together a bunch of stuff to donate. As we drove to drop it off I couldn't believe the level of destruction. Most memorable for me were the big lights at the Texas Tech Stadium folded in half, some hanging inside the stadium and some outside and the church that was all destroyed except for the altar and the cross hanging above it.
A few days later when I went back to school all the kids who knew about my rain dance cut me a wide berth, and nobody gave me lip for the rest of that year.
So what did I learn?
1. Adults don't always know what's going on or have all the answers.
2. There's no rhyme or reason when a disaster strikes. Things that look fragile come through unharmed and things that look tough shatter easily.
3. Danger can be exciting.
Well that's about it for now. Check out the link to the article about the storm. There's an old home movie showing the destruction at the bottom of the page.
http://www.lubbockonline.com/lubbock_tornado/
So today is the 39th anniversary of the Lubbock Tornado.
I knew it was going to be a strange day that day. I had been bragging to friends on the playground that since I was part Indian I could do an effective rain dance. I spun in circles like a dervish until I got into a strange head space, not just dizzy but actually altered. All the while I chanted in a mock native cadence that sounded about right to me. Later that afternoon the air took on a heavy feeling as the horned toads looked for cover.
That night my mom had dropped me off at an all night day care while she and my soon to be dad and his brother went to the movies. I had seen the news that evening and had told them I was worried about the storm warnings. My soon to be uncle and father assured me that it was no big deal.
I was 6 years old,so I believed what adults said. Much later that night the people who ran the center stormed into the big room we were all sleeping in. They snapped on the lights and gathered all the girls and took them into a storm shelter. They told us boys, all 4 of us that there just wasn't enough room below ground for all of us. Only years later did I remember this fact and realize the total BS of the situation. Anyway the man who was married to the woman who ran the daycare center told us to scoot to the corner and he threw a mattress over us.
I was on the outer edge of the mattress and lifted it up to see what was going on. Just as the man cleared the kitchen to go out the back door we could hear the sirens start up. A few moments later a low rumble mixed with a sharp howl started getting louder and louder. Two of the boys with me started to cry, the other boy started to pray. I however was exhilarated. I kept the mattress propped up so I could watch what was going on.
As luck would have it the area that house was in only took a glancing blow from the twister, although I was treated to the spectacle of a large Pecan tree crashing through the roof and cutting their house in half. It landed about nine feet from where I lay under the mattress.
Soon thereafter my mom and company picked me up. We made a circuitous journey back to the house due to all the debris in the road, mangled cars, parts of houses etc .... A ten minute drive took over an hour. After we got home the guys said goodnight and left. I was up early the next morning checking things out. My house suffered some fence damage and nothing more. My friend Ricky across the street and two doors down lost most of his roof.
Later the next day we went through the closets and got together a bunch of stuff to donate. As we drove to drop it off I couldn't believe the level of destruction. Most memorable for me were the big lights at the Texas Tech Stadium folded in half, some hanging inside the stadium and some outside and the church that was all destroyed except for the altar and the cross hanging above it.
A few days later when I went back to school all the kids who knew about my rain dance cut me a wide berth, and nobody gave me lip for the rest of that year.
So what did I learn?
1. Adults don't always know what's going on or have all the answers.
2. There's no rhyme or reason when a disaster strikes. Things that look fragile come through unharmed and things that look tough shatter easily.
3. Danger can be exciting.
Well that's about it for now. Check out the link to the article about the storm. There's an old home movie showing the destruction at the bottom of the page.
http://www.lubbockonline.com/lubbock_tornado/
