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Twister, seriously twisted

Our town got rocked by at least one tornado last night. It came within 1/2 mile of our house, and mangled everything in its path. We were so close, too close. My husband actually saw a funnel cloud through the non-stop lightning and ran back in the house to the safety of our basement.

The twisting winds and large hail demolished an historic Dairy Queen by the river. Flipped over cars all over the city (we have a car getting worked on in the shop...and I'm guessing it was exposed to the elements). A wall of a sorority house collapsed. Roof of a church ripped off. Everywhere we turn, something's ripped apart or fallen over. The University canceled classes today -- which NEVER happens.




This is a time when I wish I was still reporting. I gave up my journalistic life a few years ago, but in times like these, I want to be out there reporting what I can find out. And basically being nosy. I want to be in the center of it all. When you're a reporter, it's called doing your job. When you're just a private citizen and get in your car to go "survey the damage," you're just being a looky-loo.

My son screamed a lot last night, mostly from the sounds of the sirens that wailed way into the night and early a.m. He's snuggled up with my husband in bed. I'm glad they're both safe, that we're all safe.

***Thanks to the AP for the couple of pics I've included. One is the roof of the Catholic church that was ripped off. Another was the wall of a sorority house that fell over.

Comments

FletcherDodge said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
FletcherDodge said…
"Historic" Dairy Queen??? Is that a joke?

Glad you guys are okay, tho.
Brianne said…
Whoa..... that had to be a frightening experience. I'm glad everyone is okay too! That is crazy. I didn't think they ever hit cities. Something about it being too warm.. I dunno. A storm hit Lawrence a while ago and there weren't any tornadoes but there was some crazy wind that ripped some roofs off and damaged a bunch of buildings including some on the KU campus. KU cancelled classes the next day, too. It's a big deal when campuses shut down. I've only experienced that once at KState; it was due to a ton of snow. There were drifts as tall as 6'!

I've been wishing and hoping for storms lately but they've all just missed us. But maybe I should be counting my blessings.
Jenni said…
Ok, I'm gonna get pissy at emaw_kc - that DQ has been there for 54 years. It's one of the OLDEST ever. It's been pictured in American Photo Magazine (and that was about 15 years ago).

It was where I had my first job and I'm nearly in tears. The original owners son passed away about 8 years ago and his wife this past winter. They have two children who, along with their children are now running the DQ. Or who were until yesterday.
Anonymous said…
Hi, Y'all, We're glad you're safe. We appreciate your comments and your pics. Thanks. In '96 when a tornado hit Fort Smith, Max II had owned his home for 30 days and lived in it 9. Fortunately, he wasn't hurt, but his home was destroyed. He was able to repair the damages, thanks to insurance. It also hit down town. Your mom sent your blog ad to us. Take care. Uncle Max and Aunt Doris

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