ibeachalot's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More adventures in Tornado Alley I�m exhausted. We had a really nice trip, considering the circumstances that lead to us having to go. It went really well, even with Kevin having to work night and day and all of us being cramped in one room for the better part of a week. The kids were really well behaved, with a few minor exceptions. They were especially pleasurable while making that long drive there and back. Saturday morning before we left, I stopped at Target for a few things for the road. Kevin and the boys dropped me off and went to McD�s for some breakfast. It was dark and rainy, but we didn�t realize the weather was as bad as it was. While I was shopping, an announcement came over the loud speaker that there was a tornado warning in the area and we should be prepared to take cover. I wasn�t all that surprised. Our county had been under a tornado warning for about an hour, but the alleged tornado was well to our north. After a few minutes, the siren sounded and the Target employees announced that we all had to take cover in the men�s department in the back of the store. I was terrified for Kevin and the kids out in the car. I had no idea where they were and if they had any place to go. Turns out, they were in the parking lot the whole time. I guess there wasn�t really anything else Kevin could have done. It would have been unrealistic for him to try to corral all three kids into the store during that kind of weather. While we were huddled in the back of the store, one loud~mouthed employee said to another, "I can�t believe these people are out shopping in this weather!" A lady who was standing next to me said, "You know... we wouldn�t be here unless we absolutely had to be!" I chimed in and said, "Yeah, and if we weren�t here shopping, you�d be out of a job." Stupid loud~mouthed bitch. Anyway, the warning ended, I finished shopping and got out to Kevin and the kids who were still waiting for me in the parking lot. They were fine. We left for Oklahoma City, with Kevin in his car and the kids and me in the Envoy. We hit some really rough weather on the way down. We hit tornado warning after tornado warning. It was raining so hard that a couple of times I couldn�t see a thing in front of me, except Kevin�s tail lights. I thought about pulling over, but A) I didn�t want to get seperated from Kevin and B) I didn�t want to take a chance on someone coming along and plowing into me, or me plowing into someone else. Visibility was zero. We had made a reservation at the Holiday Inn in Norman. When we got there, they informed us they had overbooked. They sent us to a Villager Inn down the road and paid for it, since it was their goof~up. The hotel room was perfect. It was a suite. One side looked like a regular hotel room, and the other side had a living room with double convertible sofa, kitchette with microwave and fridge and another full bathroom. The kids had their own room and their own TV! It would have been ideal, except.... ... for the smell. The room reeked of a musty, stale, indescrible smell that I simply couldn�t stand after one night. It�s a shame, too. The room had the perfect set~up. It would�ve been far better for Kevin to do his work than the fresh~smelling room we ended up getting. We drove into Oklahoma City and found a Fairfield Inn, right in front of a mall and just down the road from the GM plant where Kevin had to go everyday. It was smaller, but had all the same ammenities (in one room) and smelled much better. We accompanied Kevin on some of his jobs. Oh. My. God. I�ve never seen such devastation!! One couple gave Kevin the following directions: "Take Hwy. 35 to the ______ exit. Take _____ street, turn right. We�re the first pile of rubble on the left. I�d give you the address, but it�s pointless. All that�s standing is our mailbox." We pulled up to a subdivision full of $300,000 executive homes that all looked like toothpicks. There was absolutely nothing standing. I�ve never seen anything like it. These poor people! The woman told Kevin that when the tornado hit, she was in her kitchen when she heard the siren. She ran down the hall to her bathroom, when all of a sudden she was knocked over by a wall. She woke up in a hospital room. She had been trapped for an hour and a half under rubble. They were sorting through the splinters of wood trying to salvage whatever they could. They had managed to save a small box of what once fit into a 3,000 square foot home. Kevin had to walk to the next block to find and assess one of their cars, as that�s where it was thrown from its garage. Clothing that didn�t belong to them was hanging in their trees. Directly across the street from this subdivision, was a trailer that had no damage whatsoever, other than the ceramic Jesus statue that had blown over in their flower bed. Along the highway, we saw two hotels that were destroyed, next to two that didn�t even have broken windows. Kevin took pictures of cars wrapped around trees. Several cars had been thrown more than a mile from where they were parked. I was speechless. I�d like to share some of the pictures, if I can. I�m not sure if they�re now the property of GMAC or if I'm free to share them. I'll let you know. The kids and I spent everyday shopping, walking through the mall, walking through the most incredible Wal~Mart I've ever seen and hanging around the hotel room. We napped everyday and went swimming every night. It realy was alot of fun. It was nice not having to abide by a schedule or worry about laundry or cleaning. The kids got a little stir crazy after awhile and started to miss their toys and videos. My silly kids even missed their schools! I feel bad having to pull them out of school, but... I really needed to get away. Evan's school work is paced anyway, since he has an IEP and Jameson only missed two days so it isn't a big deal, I don't think. The weather was glorious the first couple of days there, then the threat of storms returned. We didn't get anything more than rain, thankfully. Haven't these people been through enough? Everyone there is soooooo nice. You'd think with all that city has been through in the past ten years, that they've all have chips on their shoulders the size of Buicks. I was amazed to learn that the homes there don't have basements. You'd think in a place where tornadoes are so likely, they'd be required. Evidently, as it was explained to me, the soil is the reason why they don't. The soil is primarily clay and can't withstand the structure underground. Some homes have storm cellars or "safe rooms", but none have basements. Wow. I can't imagine living in a place like that. It's a really nice area, too... homes are inexpensive, there are tons of places to eat, the climate is good, the radio stations are cool and crime is low. If only there weren't those damn tornadoes. Every fourth restaurant there was Mexican, so needless to say, I was in Heaven! It got to the point where even I was a little tired of it! I've been up since the crack of dawn ~ I'm so tired! We tried to stop in Fair Grove, Missouri, to see Tony's grave. Unfortunately, we couldn't remember where the cemetary was, so we skipped it this time around. I probably would've fallen to pieces anyway. We made awesome time coming home and the kids were perfect little angels. Griffin's having some trouble falling asleep in his own bed and has been waking up several times. He got spoiled sleeping with us every night. He is not a cuddly toddler, like he was a baby. He kicks, hits, thrashes and whimpers. I would've paid someone $500 to take him into their room at night so we could've gotten some sleep. I'm off to do some more laundry and get some rest. Talk to you all soon! 9:50 p.m. - 2003-05-17 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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