Storm Season

Everyone looks forward to Spring. But aside from the odd storm chaser among us, few people are thrilled with the prospect of the potential storms that come along with the birds, blossoms, and bees.

When I was a kid we had BIG storms and they lasted ALL night long! The storm cell would settle over MY house and just sit there dumping rain and the endless rolls of thunder would rattle the windows. At least that is how I remember it. The ditches in front of our house would run like rivers and the deep one across the street would still be full most of the next day. Perfect for a little pretend fishing! The creek 2 blocks from our house would overflow and start coming up the street. We had to get the tractor going to get to the neighbor’s house at the end of the street.

During these storms we often bundled up and went to the cave. We didn’t have a cave of our own so we had to go to one of the neighbors. There were 4 of these primitive precursors to the modern basement or storm shelter in the neighborhood. These caves were dirt holes in the ground with a wooden door held shut with a thin metal hasp. There were wooden benches to sit on, and the walls were lined with jars of canned fruit and vegetables. We always seemed to leave the house when the storm was getting heavy, so we were always wet by the time we arrived.

Dad worked for the REA, so when these storms came up he was usually off to work. I never understood this really. Here we were wrapped up in blankets, sitting in a cold, damp, earthy smelling cave, IN THE DARK, and dad was out working in the lightening and rain trying to get the lights on for someone else.

I remember one trip to the cave in particular. Dad came home from work long enough to get us and take us to the neighbor’s cave. I was frantic because I could not find my monkey. Stuffed monkeys were big in the mid sixties. I could not, would not leave without the monkey. I was far less concerned about the safety of my baby sister than the monkey. Thankfully we found it and all was well. Off we went with blankets over our heads.

One muggy Saturday night in the spring of 1973 I went to the movies with my sister who was 7 or a 8 at the time. Oliver was playing. The Liberty Theatre uptown was not a scary place, but it never failed. My sister would get scared halfway through the movie and want to go home. I would have to take her to the lobby, call mom and wait with her while mom came to get her, thereby missing some crucial part of the movie! I have no idea why she always wanted to go with me when we both knew what would happen. I suspect it was for the popcorn! This night was no different in regards to the movie routine. What was different was that while we were in our seats and one of us was enjoying the movie for the first hour a doozie of a storm had blown up. I called mom to come and retrieve my sister and she couldn’t come right away because the rain was so heavy. There I was trying to watch the movie through the heavy black door curtain while my sister was tugging on me to come back to the front door. When mom finally got there, she made us both go home! I missed the entire 2nd half and was not the least bit happy about it. I was 13 and had been waiting to see that musical. It would be years before I got to see it all the way through! That was the night the big maple tree in the neighbor’s yard fell across the street.

Although I am mindful of the weather, and I appreciate the power of nature, I have never been afraid of storms. I used to think that was because I never saw fear from my parents during storms. Not even when a limb nearly fell on our car and I followed mom around for a week. I no longer think that though. My kids never saw fear from me and they were both quite afraid of storms. Now I blame that on Kindergarten. When they have the meteorologist come and talk to the class about tornados and show the videos of the aftermath, 5 year olds are going to be scared. So, yes! Whatever healthy respect and awareness I might have tried to instill was completely and totally replaced by FEAR in one “educational” presentation. And it wasn’t just tornados they became afraid of. It was even thunderstorms, mild or severe, because “you just never know when one of them could turn into a tornado Mom!”

My kids are grown now and watching the Weather Channel at their own homes. But wouldn’t you know it, the dog who replaced them in my home is just as afraid of a rumble in the clouds!