Once again we had big storms roll through last night. This time the tornado sirens went off. So, with great trepidation, we left the house with torrential rain pouring down upon us, and ventured out to the ……..storm cellar.
With the aid of a pencil thin flashlight, we determined that no snakes were present, just a few spiders and ants, and so down we went, almost like going into a submarine. This was a new experience for me. As my husband swung the heavy metal door shut to the outside world and latched the bar across, I felt a moment of anxiety flush over me in case we were not able to get back out again! Beyond the door the wind howled and moaned, and hail pinged off the metal door like bullets! It was bizarre to be there in this little, confined space, yet not able to see what was actually going on outside. It had to be like being in the middle of a battle. Which was somewhat appropriate because my husband and I had been arguing over the previous two days, and we weren’t (at that point) patched up. Yet somehow, being in a cramped, dark place under the ground, in the midst of a possible tornado, we actually starting chatting. It was funny really, I told him, it was like a movie, two people ‘torn apart’ by a misunderstanding, ‘thrown together’ by a deadly storm. He seemed to ponder that for a moment and then said he just ‘hoped the lightning didn’t hit the metal door as we would fry’, and added that ‘it would be good if the vast amount of trees in our yard did NOT get blown down on top of the storm cellar’. I vastly preferred my version and made a secret vow that if we were trapped in here forever, they would find our bodies together, with my fingers wrapped in a choke hold around his neck. In retrospect, and from the safety of my office, I can grin and think about me dying in the storm cellar and parallel to that of the mighty Queens of Egypt. I guess I am like a mini-queen, I would have been entombed in a small mini-pyramid! But my wordly goods would not have been treasures…..just my old purse and a bottle of water…….. I hope wherever you are, that you are safe!!! Jude