Friday, May 14, 2010

Tornadic Activity

Tis the season for tornadoes in the land of Kansas. And we have heard our first round of tornado sirens. When I moved to Kansas as a pre-teen, they sirens freaked. me. out. I realized yesterday that after 15 years of living in the mid-west, and surviving through 1 actually tornado, I have become a tad bit desensitized.

20 minutes before the sirens were sounded: I was walking the dog. It was humid and clouds were moving in fast.

5 minutes before the sirens were sounded: I took the dog with me to Starbucks and the bank.

As the sirens were sounded: I was in the drive-thru at Starbucks, picking up some 1/2-price fraps for our road trip. Yep, we were going to travel even though storm after storm was expected for the state.

Next stop - the bank. I went through the bank drive-thru and the employees were still there working. As they completed my transaction, I looked at the traffic. Everything seemed normal. Nobody was rushing home. Nobody was seeking shelter. I search the radio and music was playing as usual. I could not find a station that was addressing the sirens. No, the only difference from any other day was that loud sirens were sounding continually.

As I traveled back home, I turned on the TV to find that we were not in any immediate danger. The area where a tornado was likely was 15 miles past us.

(Never, ever would I advise a person to just ignore a tornado siren, however, you must realize that based on what I had seen on the TV and in the sky, I knew that I was safe at this point in time.)

10 minutes after the sirens stopped: Jake and I left on the road trip.

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