I quickly realized Monday I was not in Kansas, and I did not end up in Oz. However, there was a tornado.
It was 4:30 Monday afternoon, and I was leaving the newspaper office on Second Street heading down South High School Avenue. Right after I crossed the two bridges where it turns into 198, my scanner alerted me there was a tornado on Mississippi 35 South.
Finishing the curve, I saw it right in front of me.
I pulled over at Clearwater Pools and took a photo and marveled at how the funnel cloud was moving. It was almost intoxicating to watch. I knew it would come close, so I was going to park right next to the building and wait it out.
But it didn’t take long to realize the tornado was coming straight toward me. I hurried up and put my truck in drive and tore out and pulled over to the far end of the The Junktion parking lot.
From there I watched the tornado come through, destroying everything in its path. The roofs were folding over and blowing off buildings like one would pull aluminum off a casserole. Sparks were flying from the electric lines coming down all over, and I watched the power go out at The Junktion. Parts of the roof at the flea market had also blown away, and just like that everything was quiet.
All the while I was watching the tornado I kept saying over and over again, “Lord, protect me.”
First responder training and being a journalist had me running, asking people if they were OK before taking pictures. A man was trapped on the second floor of an apartment building where the exterior wall was blown away. He said he wasn’t injured, but he could not get down. From there I ran and got him help and kept working my way to Beal’s Collision Center.
One of the things I heard several say was the noise of a tornado sounds like a train. I don’t recall the sound other than hearing the twisting metal, but the suction is what got me. I could not believe how strong it was.
It definitely seemed like everything was taking forever, yet I know from the time I took my picture at 4:46 p.m. just before it crossed by Entrekin Metals and crossing the U.S. 98 it was only a few minutes. Yet the damage was immense; debris was scattered everywhere.
I called my boss and also my husband and told them what had happened. Of course, thankfully, the first question they both asked was if I was OK. All I can say is I was so glad I was able to shift my focus from covering the storm because I looked where I had parked by the pool store and realized it was definitely a God thing that told me to move.
Afterward I got to thinking about how my truck could have flipped, how the power lines around me could have fallen on me. This time I was just thanking the Lord over and over for His divine protection.
Tuesday morning when I was at Beal’s checking on the status of those injured, it totally hit me that there had been a fireworks stand next to Beal’s. Then it struck me if a spark had hit the firework stand what all could have happened.
So many other scenarios have since run through my mind, but in the end I am going to rest in His embrace and in the knowledge that He kept me safe, for which I am very grateful.
Usually at this point is when a columnist gets philosophical and says, “Hug your family and say I love you because you never know when it could be the end.”
But I’m purposely not going to say that because if you haven’t learned that by now, nothing I say will change your mind. However, I saw God’s fury and His grace all within a few moments, and I know it has changed me.
