Tornado on Tuesday
"It was thundering and lightning
to beat the band that night. This was a common occurrence in Northwest Georgia, so we didn’t pay too much
attention to it. I stayed with my Grandpa most of the time. We had my young cousins with us that weekend
but their bedtime was earlier than mine, so grandpa put them to bed, popped the top on a Budweiser, and got
out the Monopoly set for what we figured would be a quick game.
As usual,
Gramps had the radio dial set to Country 101 and when the national weather service interrupted with a
Tornado Watch, he didn’t turn a hair; just continued throwing the dice and trying to buy up property. But
when the alerts, beeps and bulletins kept coming, (now upgraded to a Tornado Warning), he got up with
exasperation to turn down the radio.
I was surprised to see him hesitate and twirl the dial the other way instead, turning the sound up to
listen to the narrator: “A tornado is headed for Northern Pickens County, towards Silver Hills, if you re in the
Silver Hills section of Northern Pickens County take cover---do not get into a vehicle…if you are in a vehicle
get out---. Seek shelter immediately in a home, building or predestinated shelter, such as a basement…. or
take cover in your bathroom behind a sturdy wall--- ---stay away from windows…repeat…do not get into a
vehicle---it is too late to get into a vehicle…if you are in a mobile home, seek alternative shelter immediately.”
(It’s a well-known fact in these parts of the country that mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection
for tornadoes). “Take cover in a ditch---protect your head and body from flying debris…Repeat---if you are in
a mobile home, get out…seek shelter in a ditch.”
I had heard those before. We were always having bad storms and rumors of tornadoes in Southwest Georgia,
but I couldn’t imagine anyone actually crawling into a ditch to take cover!
I could see the bind Gramps was in right away. If he had been home by himself, he would have
probably gone to bed and snored through the whole thing, behind the “sturdy” living-room wall; after all, he
had lived in a double-wide for years and risen out many tornado warnings. But he was responsible not just for
himself, but also for me and Tad and Adam, his two youngest grand-kids. There was absolutely no way he
could ignore the fact that a big tornado was headed straight for us!
About that time, the windows started rattling. I’ve never before or since seen my grandpa move that fast.
“Go get those old shower curtains out of the hall closet,” he hollered, “move! Get your raincoat and boots, and
mine too-hurry!” I couldn’t help but wonder what gramps wanted with shower curtains at a time like this, but
I knew by his tone of voice it was no time to stop and ask questions. I could hear him waking up the little kids
as I collected the shower curtains.
Grandpa didn’t waste any time. He put on his slicker and boots and made sure I had on my rain gear. Then he
did something I will never forget- he wrapped the squalling young’uns in the shower curtains-swaddled them
up so well, only their eyes and noses were poking out!
He tied a piece of clothesline around my waist and attached the other end to his belt. Then he handed me the
baby. “Follow me and hold that baby tight.” He said. Well, let me tell you, this was easier said than done! The
minute grandpa opened the door, we were hit with a wind so strong it almost ripped off the rope; luckily, Tad
was old enough to sense something was wrong and he clutched my jacket through the shower curtain. To tell
you the truth, I was pretty doggone scared. Grandpa had always protected us from everything, but I had a
sinking feeling that a tornado might be beyond his control.
It was thundering something fierce. The ditch in the backyard was only a few feet away but we couldn’t even
see it! It seemed to take forever to inch our little group from the doorway to our destination through all that
wind and driving rain, but we finally made it.
We all hunkered down in the ditch. The kids were shivering in the wind and I was quaking with fear. Grandpa
turned round to check on me and Tad and then secured the shower curtain around Adam. There was a huge,
flash of lightning, blue-green to white, to orange, and back to white. The air turned suddenly very warm and
damp. I had never before seen my grandfather spooked before, but it was only for a moment, then the look of
fear was replaced by wonder. “Look,” he said, “Look up. This is something you will likely never see again-in
your lifetime!”
We could see the outline of the tornado now, a graceful gray-white column of air, shaped like a funnel,
spinning counter clockwise through the sky. Underneath it flew churning, twirling debris. The sky was gray,
but right in the center was a snow white patch that looked like soft clouds.
In the end, it didn’t actually touch down where we were, but we later heard it took off the roof of K-Mart-just
about a mile away! Of course Grandpa laughed and joked and embellished the story every time he told it
(which was too often for most of us), but I noticed he got a little nervous after that when we had a
thunderstorm. Sometimes he would sort of peek out the blinds when he figured nobody was looking, so I guess
he took tornado warnings a bit more to heart after that! "
