Tornado Video

Hopefully this will work. All week has been bad but Monday was the worst for tornadoes. 37 officially counted right now and 2 deaths.

Amber was at home thankfully and got into the storm cellar with some friends when she heard the tornado sirens go off. No damage here though. I was at work when the tornado sirens went off and we immediately locked the doors and sent employees and customers to the back hallway (our "safe zone"). The managers stayed at the front and I heard later the vaccum from the wind was straining the doors in, then out, with only the locks holding them closed. It must have been right over us just not dropped down.

For hours one would pass by then we'd hear of another on the ground headed for us again. We were literally surrounded by them. Power kept flickering on and off and we had people lined up in the hallway that stayed for quite a while waiting it out. One couple stopped in from traveling down I40 and her mutantly giant cat got loose in the store! They eventually got it though.

After we reopened people began pouring in. Customer after customer saying their house had been taken out by a tornado, or their roofs ripped off scrambling to get plywood and tarps before the next storm hit. One guys' car windows were shattered from baseball size hail (yes, it really does get that big! My car has pit marks from golf ball size hail!) That night we just left the doors open until people stopped coming in. We didn't turn anyone away.

Being in retail it's become such a natural greeting while ringing up customers to say, "Hi! How're you doing?" (with a perky little smile) I've really got to change that. When a tired mom, buying batteries and flashlights, with all the kids since the schools don't have power, they haven't had water or electricity, even worse, lost their house... well, they look they give back says it all. So many people have been affected by this. Nerves are shot.

Yesterday there were still over 14,000 homes without power. Our store sold over 400 generators by mid afternoon. And on top of that, the local Walmart lost their power that Monday. The contractor that came to hook up the generator for them did it wrong and COMPLETELY fried the entire stores' electrical system! I heard it would be another two weeks before they could reopen but when I drove past today it looked like the doors were open but the building was dark.

A girl at work heard the sirens go off so she grabbed the cat and went into her storm cellar. Her neighbors came right after her, they door was sucked open, he shoved his wife in and had a hard time closing the door behind them then as soon as it was closed the tornado hit. Her two story house is now a one story pile of rubble. But at least they are all safe.

I just can't believe how scared people are out here of earthquakes but tornadoes are no problem because "at least you can get underground away from them." Then there's Haiti. And the earthquake in San Francisco years ago that flattened the upper deck of the freeway onto the lower deck, trapping people in a tomb for miles. Let's face it, in nature...shit happens. All you can do is survive and pick up the person next to you and keep going.

One step at a time...