Wild Wild Weather.... (33)

CjTenorSax: I grew up in a little section of Ohio, unofficially called Tornado Alley by us natives of the area . . .

We all gnew the signs of an impending tornado, (quiet, still, erie gray-green cast over eveything, heavy metalic taste to the air, etc) from an early age and what to do, in the event of a tornado.

One day, shortly after my father had died, My Mom and other siblings went to the store. The forcast had been calling for a major thunderstorm.

My youngest sister and I had volunteered to stay home and bring all the livestock up from the back 40. Mom said ok but be careful, it looks like tornado weather, if you notice the signs, just leave everything and get in to the Storm Cellar.

We said ok and started herding up all the animals. Got everthing in the barn. I was stalling the last of the horses and cattle. My Sister had grained the sheep, goats, Ponies and was doing the horses while I handled the bulls. Then we both were going to milk the cows and goats.

All of a sudden there was a loud noise, like a freight train and the enire barn wall just disappeared! from the north side of the barn to the south corner! The Whole wall!

The two bulls I had just stalled took down their stall and I could only jump up and grab a rafter, bc when they took down their stall, they crashed right past me and through the Horses stalls and left out of the barn where the wall had been, with all the horses and every thing that had been stalled on the opposite side of the barn the barn.

I was terrified to look over where my sister had been. I thought she had been trampled in the stampede. She was alright and had also jumped up into a grain feeder out of the way.

We were like what just happenned? We looked out the back door of the barn and saw the twister racing to the back 40 we had just come from( South) and all our live stock racing to our neighbors pasture( East).

We had been so engrosed in our work we had missed the sudden erieness, and other signs that we knew to look for.

Our neighbor from the north saw us throught the barn wall and he turned off the road through the pasture and was chewing us out, (we lived in an area where people tried to support others and take up roles that had been lost, ie our Dad's death), b/c we knew better and should have been more alert. He said he should paddle us as he imagined our Dad would have.

Mom had come home right about then and joined Mr. Boles. She asked us what happened we told her we were just working and had missed the signs. She said Jim, at least they are alright, that is what is important. The barn wall can be repaired, the livestock retrieved.

But that b/c our Dad had just died, and we were trying to be responsible she would let it slide b/c we were alright.

She looked at us and said you two have just learned a large lesson. No matter what is on your mind, or how hurt your hearts are hurting you have to pay attention to the things around you, you could have died . . .

Needless to say, we never forgot it either.