Leadership and You say TorNEIGHdo, I say TorNAHdo...
Sorry it's been a few weeks. My house got hit by a stupid EF-3 tornado. House and cars gone. Bummer...
So, here's the deal...
I am going to take the next few blog posts to document my experience on January 23, 2012. The farther out I get from the event, the more the details may be fuzzy. This is a story I would like to tell my grandkids, so this is a good way to get it in writing.
If you are up for a good tornado survival story, then you want to keep reading. At the end of the final post, I will try to attach a leadership lesson or two (which allows me to keep with the theme).
But at the end of the day, these next few posts are nothing more than my version of one of the most intense moments I hope to ever experience on this earth.
So here we go.
On Sunday, January 22, the weather experts were predicting a bad night. In fact, they were not hestitant to use the word "tornado" almost 24 hours in advance. After church, we went to Logan's Roadhouse in Trussville with my in-laws, and I recall Sherri talking with them about how strange the weather forecasts were. In fact, my daughter Madison had already seen on Facebook a story about possible tornados that night.
The day continued at a normal Sunday pace.
On Sunday night, my son Logan asked if he could sleep in the basement. He does this as he has a HUGE fear of tornados. He does not fear many things for a 10-year old boy, but tornados are the one thing that concern him.
And I do not know where he got this fear. Is is due to the Tuscaloosa tornados in April of 2011? Is it because I took him on the "Twister" attraction at Universal Orlando at too young an age? I really don't know. All I know is that he is very scared of them...
and that may have saved his life. More on that later.
Our basement has many names: the basement, the game room, the man room, the Alabama Room, the Florida room. Basically it is a 10x20 room with a couch and love seat, two 32" TV's mounted on the wall, and a game table. It is where Logan plays his X-Box and Wii, and where we can watch a sports program on one TV and Project Runway on the other...therefore keeping the family all together. It's a fun place. (What? Like you don't watch Project Runway?)
It is also the safest room in the house. The corner on the front left of the house is at the lowest spot, and this is where our love seat and sofa form an L-shape. We let Logan sleep down there on Friday and Saturday nights. This allows him to watch MLB Network and play video games until he falls asleep.
So even though Sunday night was a "school night", we let him sleep in the basement to help alleviate his fear of a possible tornado.
Around 11:00pm, Madison was asleep in her bedroom, Logan in the basement, and Sherri and I headed to bed for the evening.
We were awakened at 3:00am by the first tornado siren. It is located just up the road from our home. It usually wakes us up, and this time was no exception. We both rolled over in bed and turned on the bedroom TV. James Spann is our local tornado guru, so we turned him on (ABC 33/40) and began to watch.
With half-opened eyes, I heard those magical words I was looking for...
"This tornado warning is sounding in all of Jefferson County, but it is really only affecting West Jefferson County. If you are in Irondale, Clay, Moody, TRUSSVILLE, etc., this is not anywhere near you."
I was so happy. My joy came from the fact that I could fall back asleep with no worries, and I did. But we left the TV on with the volume down low...just in case.
I drifted back to sleep.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH went the tornado siren! There it was again. I looked at my phone and the time read 4:00am. Sherri reached over and turned up the volume to the TV. James was sharing many words with us, but I was still in an extremely drowsy mode. The only words I could make out were "This tornado is headed towards the Center Point area."
I was cognizant enough to understand that Center Point was the next city over from Trussville. This woke us both up enough that we looked at each other and asked the question that all sleepy people who hear tornado sirens ask each other in the middle of night...
"(Yawn)...Should we go downstairs?"
You see, our bed is VERY cozy! We have a TV in our room, a beautiful yellow lab named Lulabelle on the floor next to us, and blankets up around our chins. Who wants to get up at 4:00 in the morning, wake up the kids, and make the trek downstairs?
Because, you see, I KNEW what was going to happen. We were all going to go to the basement, turn on the TV's and watch the storms pass by. Nothing was going to happen to us, but I was going to be wide awake. We would not be able to go back to sleep at 5:00 or 5:30 or 6:00, and therefore we would be one tired cranky family all day on Monday.
And who wants that?
But Sherri looked at me, I looked back at her, and I think we both may have said, "Let's go."
I, in my boxer shorts, said that I would head downstairs to get the TV's on the right channels. Sherri, in her nightgown, said she would go upstairs and get Madison and then head down.
We both sauntered...
We strolled...
We meandered...
There was NO sense of urgency from either of us. After all, what are the chances of a tornado hitting your house?
As I arrived in the basement, I was happy to see my little Logan all asleep without a care in the world.
It always amazes me how soundproof our basement is. There are no windows, and where the pocket doors are closed, you really are closed off from the rest of the world. In fact, the garage is just outside the basement, and you cannot hear the garage doors going up and down when the pocket doors are closed.
I grabbed the remote controls and sat at the far end of the sofa nearest the TV's. I had to lift up Logan's legs to place them on top of me, as he was sleeping on that couch.
I turned on both TV's. I put one on ABC 33/40 and the other on another station (I actually forgot which one). I looked down on the coffee table and smiled...
Logan had brought down a flashlight with him.
For Christmas, I found a double pack of wind-up flashlights at Kohl's. I gave one to Logan and one to Madison, and they kept them in their rooms. They are standard sized flashlights that work great after they are wound up for 30 seconds or so.
I began to wind his flashlight as Sherri and Madison entered the room. Madison looked so cozy in her long shirt and cozy pants. She was clutching her phone - ready to play some video games or FaceBook her friends.
I noticed Lulabelle come in behind them as Sherri shut the pocket door.
5-10 seconds pass...
ZZZZZAP! Out goes the power.
"Well, that's a bummer" Sherri stated.
"It's OK. Logan has his flashlight," I said.
Madison then said, "I've got one too. Let me run upstairs and get mine!"
"No" I replied. "One is plenty. Let's just all stay down here for now."
(Looking back, I need to thank God for the wisdom to make that parental decision...it ended up being a good one.)
Madison had made her way to the love seat and sat in the corner closest to the Logan's head on the other sofa. Sherri was still standing close to the couch. I reached down and turned on the flashlight and laid it on the table facing away from us and towards the other side of the room.
About 60 seconds had passed from the time I entered the room to the current moment...
and then there was a noise.
It was the noise of our two pocket doors slowly bouncing in the doorframes. First slowly, but then faster and then much faster. It was a sight that I had never seen before.
My eyes locked in to Sherri's as I felt a sudden pressure change.
It was hard to explain. It felt as if it was some kind of vacuum effect. I did not feel like I was being pulled anywhere. Instead, it was like someone had a two-ton shop-vac outside the room, and they had turned it on.
My ears popped...
The wind was wailing and getting louder...
and then even louder...
Sherri yelled "COVER THE KIDS!"
I watched as she jumped full force, body extended, onto Madison, as I did the same on Logan.
and then the noise got even louder...
and we knew that it was here.
...to be continued
So, here's the deal...
I am going to take the next few blog posts to document my experience on January 23, 2012. The farther out I get from the event, the more the details may be fuzzy. This is a story I would like to tell my grandkids, so this is a good way to get it in writing.
If you are up for a good tornado survival story, then you want to keep reading. At the end of the final post, I will try to attach a leadership lesson or two (which allows me to keep with the theme).
But at the end of the day, these next few posts are nothing more than my version of one of the most intense moments I hope to ever experience on this earth.
So here we go.
On Sunday, January 22, the weather experts were predicting a bad night. In fact, they were not hestitant to use the word "tornado" almost 24 hours in advance. After church, we went to Logan's Roadhouse in Trussville with my in-laws, and I recall Sherri talking with them about how strange the weather forecasts were. In fact, my daughter Madison had already seen on Facebook a story about possible tornados that night.
The day continued at a normal Sunday pace.
On Sunday night, my son Logan asked if he could sleep in the basement. He does this as he has a HUGE fear of tornados. He does not fear many things for a 10-year old boy, but tornados are the one thing that concern him.
And I do not know where he got this fear. Is is due to the Tuscaloosa tornados in April of 2011? Is it because I took him on the "Twister" attraction at Universal Orlando at too young an age? I really don't know. All I know is that he is very scared of them...
and that may have saved his life. More on that later.
Our basement has many names: the basement, the game room, the man room, the Alabama Room, the Florida room. Basically it is a 10x20 room with a couch and love seat, two 32" TV's mounted on the wall, and a game table. It is where Logan plays his X-Box and Wii, and where we can watch a sports program on one TV and Project Runway on the other...therefore keeping the family all together. It's a fun place. (What? Like you don't watch Project Runway?)
It is also the safest room in the house. The corner on the front left of the house is at the lowest spot, and this is where our love seat and sofa form an L-shape. We let Logan sleep down there on Friday and Saturday nights. This allows him to watch MLB Network and play video games until he falls asleep.So even though Sunday night was a "school night", we let him sleep in the basement to help alleviate his fear of a possible tornado.
Around 11:00pm, Madison was asleep in her bedroom, Logan in the basement, and Sherri and I headed to bed for the evening.
We were awakened at 3:00am by the first tornado siren. It is located just up the road from our home. It usually wakes us up, and this time was no exception. We both rolled over in bed and turned on the bedroom TV. James Spann is our local tornado guru, so we turned him on (ABC 33/40) and began to watch.
With half-opened eyes, I heard those magical words I was looking for...
"This tornado warning is sounding in all of Jefferson County, but it is really only affecting West Jefferson County. If you are in Irondale, Clay, Moody, TRUSSVILLE, etc., this is not anywhere near you."
I was so happy. My joy came from the fact that I could fall back asleep with no worries, and I did. But we left the TV on with the volume down low...just in case.
I drifted back to sleep.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH went the tornado siren! There it was again. I looked at my phone and the time read 4:00am. Sherri reached over and turned up the volume to the TV. James was sharing many words with us, but I was still in an extremely drowsy mode. The only words I could make out were "This tornado is headed towards the Center Point area."
I was cognizant enough to understand that Center Point was the next city over from Trussville. This woke us both up enough that we looked at each other and asked the question that all sleepy people who hear tornado sirens ask each other in the middle of night...
"(Yawn)...Should we go downstairs?"
You see, our bed is VERY cozy! We have a TV in our room, a beautiful yellow lab named Lulabelle on the floor next to us, and blankets up around our chins. Who wants to get up at 4:00 in the morning, wake up the kids, and make the trek downstairs?
Because, you see, I KNEW what was going to happen. We were all going to go to the basement, turn on the TV's and watch the storms pass by. Nothing was going to happen to us, but I was going to be wide awake. We would not be able to go back to sleep at 5:00 or 5:30 or 6:00, and therefore we would be one tired cranky family all day on Monday.
And who wants that?
But Sherri looked at me, I looked back at her, and I think we both may have said, "Let's go."
I, in my boxer shorts, said that I would head downstairs to get the TV's on the right channels. Sherri, in her nightgown, said she would go upstairs and get Madison and then head down.
We both sauntered...
We strolled...
We meandered...
There was NO sense of urgency from either of us. After all, what are the chances of a tornado hitting your house?
As I arrived in the basement, I was happy to see my little Logan all asleep without a care in the world.
It always amazes me how soundproof our basement is. There are no windows, and where the pocket doors are closed, you really are closed off from the rest of the world. In fact, the garage is just outside the basement, and you cannot hear the garage doors going up and down when the pocket doors are closed.
I grabbed the remote controls and sat at the far end of the sofa nearest the TV's. I had to lift up Logan's legs to place them on top of me, as he was sleeping on that couch.
I turned on both TV's. I put one on ABC 33/40 and the other on another station (I actually forgot which one). I looked down on the coffee table and smiled...
Logan had brought down a flashlight with him.
For Christmas, I found a double pack of wind-up flashlights at Kohl's. I gave one to Logan and one to Madison, and they kept them in their rooms. They are standard sized flashlights that work great after they are wound up for 30 seconds or so.
I began to wind his flashlight as Sherri and Madison entered the room. Madison looked so cozy in her long shirt and cozy pants. She was clutching her phone - ready to play some video games or FaceBook her friends.
I noticed Lulabelle come in behind them as Sherri shut the pocket door.
5-10 seconds pass...
ZZZZZAP! Out goes the power.
"Well, that's a bummer" Sherri stated.
"It's OK. Logan has his flashlight," I said.
Madison then said, "I've got one too. Let me run upstairs and get mine!"
"No" I replied. "One is plenty. Let's just all stay down here for now."
(Looking back, I need to thank God for the wisdom to make that parental decision...it ended up being a good one.)
Madison had made her way to the love seat and sat in the corner closest to the Logan's head on the other sofa. Sherri was still standing close to the couch. I reached down and turned on the flashlight and laid it on the table facing away from us and towards the other side of the room.
About 60 seconds had passed from the time I entered the room to the current moment...
and then there was a noise.
It was the noise of our two pocket doors slowly bouncing in the doorframes. First slowly, but then faster and then much faster. It was a sight that I had never seen before.
My eyes locked in to Sherri's as I felt a sudden pressure change.
It was hard to explain. It felt as if it was some kind of vacuum effect. I did not feel like I was being pulled anywhere. Instead, it was like someone had a two-ton shop-vac outside the room, and they had turned it on.
My ears popped...
The wind was wailing and getting louder...
and then even louder...
Sherri yelled "COVER THE KIDS!"
I watched as she jumped full force, body extended, onto Madison, as I did the same on Logan.
and then the noise got even louder...
and we knew that it was here.
...to be continued
How long til your next post!
Reply to this
I've been waiting for this Leadership and...post-tornado edition, Pete! Thank you so much for the detailed account. It helps to better wrap my mind around something so very incomprehensible! I'm so very grateful that you and your family have survived to write this post and to share with your grandkids. God is going to use this experience to something AMAZING in your, Sherri's Madison's and Logan's lives. Meanwhile, we are praying hard for you during the recovery process.
Reply to this
Anxiously awaiting further posts!
Reply to this
Still praying for all of you. ANXIOUSLY awaiting the next chapter. I hate we missed you, Sherri and the kids Sat. night. Hope your lives have some order of peace now. Still thanking God you are all O.K.
Reply to this
Pete, I truly wished I had known about your blog prior to last night. You and your family are truly and inspiration to me and were before any of this even happened. Thank you for this blog. You have a new devoted reader. Take care my friend!
Reply to this
Still praying you all have some order of peace and normalcy in your life now. Amazed at the play by play of that horrendous day. Missed seeing you, Sherri and the kids Sat night. May God continus to bless you all as you go on with your lives!!!!
Reply to this
AND PLEASE, "NOW FOR THE REST OF THE STORY" SENT TO EMAIL ADDRESS dsmcewen@aol.com
Thank you.
Reply to this