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A Bit too Close to Home

Pat Parker Robertson
We're not liking what we are hearing about today's weather. Be careful. keep us posted, K?
Yesterday at 7:21am

Was she talking about the rain and thunder storms that we headed our way in the afternoon? I checked the weather and saw the possibility of tornadoes. No big deal. There had been several tornado watches since I have lived here. Nothing ever came of any of them.

Sometime after, Tony and I were talking. The reality of not being able to get my classroom materials back hit me hard. I think I even teared up. I did what I do when I need to process something. I wrote. I whined.

Mandie Robertson Victor
I have faced the reality. Time to start building my classroom resources from the beginning....

Jumpin' Off the Edge: My Books (1993-2010)

Due to the weather, Tony had the day off from driving his rickshaw. We decided to spend some time together and go see a movie. We remembered to take our rain coats, but didn’t give the storms a second thought. We sat back with our popcorn and laughed our way through Your Highness.

Mandie Robertson Victor
Tornado just went through downtown Raleigh. Guess we better get home.
22 hours ago via Android 

On our way to the movies, Tony listened to some sort of sport. I think it might have been spring football. Upon heading home, the sports had been taken over by breaking news. It was then I heard a tornado had gone through downtown Raleigh. It was then that the possibility of a tornado in Benson, NC became real for me. I have always been taught you go to the cellar when there is a chance of a tornado. We don’t have a cellar, so the girls did the next best thing – they hung out in the bathtub with a mattress over them.

Mandie Robertson Victor
Girls are in the tub covered with a mattress. Almost home to them.
22 hours ago via Android


As the rain the wind got stronger, our trip seemed longer. We started on I-95 only to have traffic backed up for a few miles. Back roads it was! I am all for adventure and would have felt better about this particular one if the girls had been with us. The radio kept us informed of the track of the tornadoes. We kept watch out the windows in between the balls of hail and sheets of rain. Finally, we arrived home.




Mandie Robertson Victor
Came home to find the girls and Beatrice safe and sound under the mattress.
22 hours ago via Android ·

Seeing them under the mattress, I let out a breath of relief. The wind and rain continued as Tony watched out the window for an ominous black funnel to form. I sat on the couch and gave the illusion of calm as I played on my computer.

Mandie Robertson Victor
Electricity is out. What an adventure this is!
22 hours ago via Android 
Until I could play online no more. Patti remained hunkered down in the tub. Sana joined Tony and I in the living room while she read. As for Beatrice, I think she kept Patti company.

Mandie Robertson Victor
It seems the storm is over, although we are still under a watch until 9pm. Electricity is back. Had it been a school day, I would have been crouching against a wall in the hallway keeping a bunch of 7th graders calm. As far as I know, nothing touched down in Benson.
21 hours ago · 

We went back about our business not thinking much about the storm. My thoughts were on Raleigh. Thoughts of how sad and I hope everyone is okay. Still far removed from me. Until it got a little closer to home.

Mandie Robertson Victor
A parent just called. Come to find out, the tornado landed in Benson! Trailers have been flattened and much debris is all around. Hoping everybody is okay.
20 hours ago

The parent called to make sure I was okay. I found this heart-warming, but strange. After all, it was just a really bad thunderstorm. She set me straight. They live in a trailer and took shelter elsewhere as soon as they heard about the warnings. She watched it go across a field. Her trailer survived with just a broken window, while one down the street was demolished. She told me about a whole subdivision that was wrecked in one way or another. In the meantime, Tony was listening to updates online. A Lowe’s had the roof taken off and several other houses had been flattened. It became real in my world.

Mandie Robertson Victor
Please pray, send positive thoughts, or whatever it is you do when life gets tough. While my part of the world and the people in it are intact, many others within just a few miles of me are not. Just heard of a missing three year old boy, and many more homes that have been demolished by tornadoes today.
17 hours ago

There were 71 tornadoes reported to have touched down in North Carolina yesterday. I know of 5 deaths attributed to it so far in Raleigh.

Carmen Rogers
Hoping all is well in Benson...
6 hours ago ·

Mandie Robertson Victor 
Things are....I am not quite sure how to respond at the moment. They are good for me because my family and I are safe. However, I just heard that one of my 7th grade students lost his house. Who knows if there are more people I know that have been effected in such a harsh way. I want to help and am at a loss of how to go about doing so. (I will figure it out though.) We are on vacation for the next 9 days. A long time to make sure all of my students are okay....
40 minutes ago · Like

Yesterday I was whining about the loss of my books. How silly it seems now. In less than 24 hours, I have been reminded of the important things in life – the people I love, not the things I have acquired. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 17, 2011 at 3:49 PM

    yes Mandie you were very lucky yesterday. yes it was scarey. I don't know how you managed to get through it but you did maybe because God was watching out for you. i know it was scarey for me to watch on the computor all that was going on down there and i know it is nothing i want to go through I will take the snow any time. we are very lucky to live here in Maine on high ground. i again hope you have not lost anyone you personally know. take care. love you. Marguerite

    ReplyDelete

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