It began with a predawn phone call from Joshua.
He said in a sleepy voice, "Nana called me and said to call you to let you know I am still alive. You would be worried when you saw the news. I'm going back to sleep." Then hung up!
Nana was right - I was suddenly terrified!
Nashville had been pummeled by a tornado a few hours earlier on March 3, 2020. We too had experienced a bad storm but it was nothing like what happened to them.
March 3, 2020, Nashville tornado
Nana lives in an assisted living facility and spent the night in their basement waiting for the tornado to blow over. She knew it was heading toward Joshua's apartment and also knew how deeply he slept. Once when he was living at her previous house, a rotten tree hanging over his bedroom fell and punched a big hole through the roof. Nana had to wake him up and tell him what happened.
Joshua's roommates woke him up (they also know how deeply he sleeps) and together they followed the storm on the radar. He said it was an uncomfortable feeling watching it get closer and closer. It hit about 1/4 of a mile away but his apartment was safe. (A door camera caught a video of it, click here)
His roommate wasn't so lucky. It destroyed his workplace, caught the gas line on fire which the firemen extinguished but then it blazed up again the next day. Needless to say, he lost his job and had to find another.
Nashville's terrain is shaped a bit like a bowl circled with hills. Storms often travel the same path. We say storms follow the interstate. The March 3, 2020, tornado followed almost the same path as another on April 16, 1998, and one in 1934. Bill was in the 1998 tornado and my father was a child in the 1934 tornado.
(National Weather Service Image
Bill worked downtown in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center before he retired. When he looked out the window, he could see the 1998 mile-wide tornado coming straight for him. This was the view he saw when he looked out his window (click here). The bursts of light are electrical transformers exploding.
(News Channel 5, Nashville image)
He called me from the stairwell as it hit. The building began rocking, windows were flying out and he ordered me to get the boys inside our house. We were outside playing in the sunshine but as I looked toward Nashville, I could see a black cloud with lightning flashing in the center.
(TPAC, March 16, 1998, minus 100 plate glass windows)
We lost a few more shingles during the storm on March 3rd, nothing major but something that is happening too frequently. Without Roofer Reese living here to shimmy up and fix the damage, we decided it was time to replace it.
(Our new roof being delivered)
Other than being noisy, messy, and smelly, the service was fantastic.
Hopefully, this roof won't be blown off anytime soon but at least we are better prepared for the storms ahead.
I love how your house looks. Even better, it's good to know rain will not be coming in any time soon.
ReplyDeleteJake, my nephew, is going to love the pictures of the storms! He's loving bad weather right now, and keeps watching some U-Tube videos by a man named Mr. Demao, who does kids videos about history and science. The tornado one is a favorite!
I have always enjoyed watching storms blow in and will sit on the porch until the rain gets me wet.
DeleteWhen we lived in Nashville years ago and I babysat children, one little girl was terrified of storms. Once when one blew in and everyone else was sitting on the porch cheering the loud thunder claps, she ventured out from under my bed, peeked through the door and asked why weren't we hiding? I told her we would miss the excitement under the bed. She timidly sat down beside me and I explained how storms work, then told her how to know when it was no longer safe to be outside. She enjoyed herself.
When her mother arrived later, all the little girl could do was talk about the storm. Her shocked mother replied, "but you are supposed to be afraid of them." The little girl replied, "Not any more."
Wow, that looks scary. Glad your roofing is done and that you are pleased with the work.
ReplyDeleteI admire these brave roofers who are so completely free of giddiness. This is no easy job.
ReplyDeleteEven when you are very satisfied with the work they have done, you will be glad that it is
finished now and that the roof will be in good condition for a long time.
We hardly suffer from heavy storms in our region, but of course we hear in the news
when these horrible things happen in other parts of the world.
Christel
It may sound crazy, but I like the storms. I suppose, if I feared them, it would be different. I am the person who stands in front of the window watching until someone else pulls me away to safety.
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