Mothers’ Day Malestrom
It was 5 am. I was awakened by heavy rain outside my window. Then, the thunder and lightning started. At 5:15 am the air raid siren began howling, indicating that a tornado had been sighted here in Upson County. Grabbing a flashlight, I arose and put on my pants, which had my wallet, keys, credit cards and cell phone. I knew that I could recover from almost any catastrophe with these items. With the flashlight, I looked under the bed for Suvy and found her. I petted her reassuringly saying, ” good kitty.” Nervously, I walked to the window and searched the night sky, punctuated with lightning strikes, in search of the tornado. Then a hail storm occurred, sounding like pebbles hitting the roof. The trees on this property were twirling in a counterclockwise spin. I knew that the moment of truth was now. After a couple of minutes, I walked down the hall to my mom’s bedroom door. There was no comfortable place for her to sit in the hallway in her semi-disabled condition, so, I decided to keep myself safe, enabling me to resue her in the event of a house collapse. After a few more minutes the storm abated, with the lightning occuring east of here. I went back to bed and did not sleep any more for the rest of the morning. Mom has not gotten up yet to begin her Mothers’ Day celebrations. I will now turn on the local radio station to get more information about the damage that this incredible storm wrought upon this community.
With relief,
I.C.
10:15 pm. The damage here in Upson County has been minimal from this powerful storm. The town of Ellenwood, Georgia was not so lucky. I was shocked to see the face of a former colleague of mine on the Atlanta news tonight. Mark Freeman’s house was destroyed by a tornado ! Mark was actually in New York, visiting his mother when the storm tore off the second floor and attic of his house, with his stepson inside asleep ! The stepson survived the horror of having his bedroom wall ripped off and being sucked out of his bed. Thank God that Mark and his family are alive and well after this.