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November 2, 2010

So lucky to be Alive!

Yes this is the long awaited for post about our trip home from Fort Worth. Y’all know the one in which we went to the Japanese Fall Festival and met the super duper all original and organic Jai.

So there we were, driving away from the what-a-burger with happy faces and the ‘wonder how long it’s gonna take to get home’ feet.

The van was shifting funny, but not in a laughing sort of way. It would go into overdrive then after a few minutes it would shift back down then back to overdrive. Humm. We had just make it outside of Dallas and back on to our familiar I45 when…are you ready?...someone had to pee and someone else was hungry and well you get the picture. We stopped at a gas and eat station. Did our business and purchased some subway samwitches (is too spelled wright)

Back on the road, eating while Beloved was driving and commenting on how the sky looked, figuring we would be getting rained on just any minute…then I spotted a rainbow. We chit-chatted about rainbows and how scientifically they come about, yeah, we are that kind of family. Then Beloved says “hey does that cloud look funny.” Y’all know not the laughing way, but OH $hit kind of funny.

I already had my camera out on accounta of the rainbow and junk. So Hey I though take some pictures. Cars had pulled over and we keep on going and taking pictures, most were blurry. Sorry the rainbow didn’t come out, but this one did


We did not know it was crossing the freeway a mile or so ahead of us. It came down on a school blew the roof, knocked the field goals about in the football field, tumped over a train car behind the school.


We saw two different cars that has spun around in the ditch (people okay?)


An ambulance and a couple of cop cars went flying off, we can only assume they were taking family members to the hospital (?)


Then we got to it there in the middle of the freeway on the south bound, our, side of I45 was an 18 wheeler, torn up and laying on its side facing the wrong way (Driver?) Debris was strew all over the road from the truck and the school, insulation was in the trees across the freeway from the school.


Once we got past that, about 7 to 10 miles we ran into hail, it hailed on us for some miles, nowhere to take cover. The hail ranged from pea sized up to large marbles, y’all know the shooter size. But we made it through; I know you were beginning to wonder.

Do you know we still believe this was a good weekend. We were together, saw a really neat drum performance, meet a wonderful dear internet and lived to tell about it. I mean, come on, how much better can it get? No don’t answer that it was a hysterical question and those required no answer.

14 comments:

Connie said...

Oh my goodness! How scary that must have been. So glad you are OK. Those storms just seem to pop up out of nowhere.

Jeni said...

WOW! Glad you didn't arrive in that area in the midst of the flying debris!

Jean-Luc Picard said...

Very scasry. Always carry a camera.

Zephra said...

I remember that night very well. Glad to know you made it though safe but your photos are great.

ER said...

That's a great picture of the tornado Paige. It's scary to think that they actually do touch-down on highways!

So glad you were a little later on the scene.

Jai Joshi said...

Oh my goodness, Paige! I knew what you'd seen on that drive and so was prepared for this post but those pics are unbelievable. And the tornado crossed the freeway just a mile ahead of you! Holy S**t!

Jai

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

If you wrote this, you must have made it. But, didn't you turn on the radio, to find out what had been going on? As you were driving along and seeing this stuff?

And it was? A twister, I suppose. Yikes!!!

Unknown said...

In the words of Joey...WOE.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Paige .. it's after the event .. that these things sink in sometimes .. glad all's well that ends well .. hope you've relaxed a little now .. Hilary

Dorraine said...

By the looks of those photo's, that was one wicked ride home. The Doors, Riders on the Storm, came to mind.

This will be a trip you'll never forget. So thankful you guys are all fine and dandy.

Georganna Hancock M.S. said...

So near to Halloween, Dorraine, makes me think of "Ghost Riders in the Sky".

Dearly Beloved Friend -- how much longer did it take you to get home with all the stops (I presume) and traffic reroutings (was it?)?

Two little twisters enchanted me in Florida in the 1970s. One blew the palm leaves sideways and twisted off the outdoor light pole. I was banging away on Daddy's old Olivetti when I looked up and saw what was going on in the yard outside my bedroom window. Wild!

The other skittered across a street as I was driving past a school. I forget if I stopped or speeded up to try to get past first. Either way it made a good news brief for that day's paper where I worked as a reporter.

Florida (and probably California) tornadoes are waterspouts that blow ashore and sort of peter out when they encounter resistence. Not so dangerous and dramatic as what you saw. Brrr! Glad you & yourn were OK. O-O

Jannie Funster said...

Oh. My. Freaking. God. I'd've pooped my pants. Gee, the devastation. So glad you are all okay.

xoxo

Snaggle Tooth said...

Awesome pictures! Very historical! You are indeed very fortunate you weren't further up the highway, n Gods love was shining on you!
(Wow!)

Paul C said...

It must be terrifying to be in the midst of such destruction. You chronicled it well.