Kate heard the meteorologist say that everyone in the Kansas City area needed to take cover as a EF-4 tornado was about to move through the city. Soon after they had watched the meteorologist on TV, Kate heard the tornado sirens in the area begin to go off. Kate didn't worry. There had never been a tornado that had touched down in her hometown ever since she was born. Kate was pretty sure that they were going to be okay, but she had a weird feeling about this storm this time.
"Mom, are you sure we shouldn't take cover?" Kate asked her mom.
"Kate, I'm sure we'll be fine," her mom answered back.
After dinner, Kate and her parents returned home. Kate began to receive an influx of texts on her phone asking if she was okay during the storm. A tornado had just touched down in one of the towns right outside of Kansas City. Kate found out on social media that several people she went to high school had just lost their homes, their cars, everything. Kate was in total shock. She texted anyone in the area that she knew to make sure that they were okay. She was going to have to rely on social media for the rest of the people she knew.
("Dimmitt Tornado1-NOAA". Source: Wikimedia Commons)
That next morning, Kate learned that everyone she went to high school with was safe. The Kansas City area came together to donate clothes, food, gift cards, and many other things that victims of the tornado could need. People donated food and towels to animal shelters and posted pictures of animals they found in the debris of the damaged neighborhoods so they could be reunited with their owners.
As Kate watched the news and saw interviews of survivors of the tornado, she truly realized how lucky she was to still be alive. She began to realize the things that truly matter in life---to enjoy every day in life because you never know when that day might be your last. To hug your family members and friends and tell them how much you love them. Kate also knew that she would never take a severe storm lightly again.
Author's Note: I based this story off of two things: my own personal experience and "The Woodpecker's Stumpy Tail" from When The Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton (1936). Over this past winter break on the day after Christmas, my hometown was hit by a tornado. People I knew lost everything they had--and what really hit everyone the hardest was the fact that it happened the day after Christmas. The victims of the tornado had just spent the previous day with their family members and friends. Little did they know what was about to happen that next day. I remember that night when the sirens went off I wasn't worried at all because attending OU I learned that tornadoes occurred every May like clockwork. Needless to say, I will never take a severe storm lightly ever again.
This story was also based off "The Woodpecker's Stumpy Tail" from the Tejas Legends Unit. In this story, a frog warns the birds and the indians that a flood is coming. The woodpecker and the indians didn't listen to him. Many of the indians died and the woodpecker ended up getting his tail bitten off by a fish because he was too close to the water. Needless to say, being so close to a severe storm will teach you to listen to warnings in the future!
Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteYet again, another lesson-filled story. Often times we don't ever things that it could be US affected by natural disasters or other things that can occur will living life. Being from Oklahoma, I know all too well that it really is just God's grace that a family isn't torn apart by a tornado. It just takes a matter of seconds for everything to change. Great story!
This was a good story! I like how you mixed your own personal story with a reading assignment to come up with this. Hopefully the rest of your hometown has learned the same lesson that you have and will start to take tornado warnings more seriously. It is good to hear that everyone pitched in to help those that were affected the most by it though.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I can really relate to this story. I am from Michigan originally and moved to Oklahoma to go to school here. We don't really get Tornados or storms like Oklahoma gets so I was unaware what that was like before coming down here. I can remember one time specifically when there were tornado warnings but I kind of shrugged them off and thought we will probably only get some nasty rain and wind. That was when a tornado touched down right by campus and kind of hopped over it then touched down on the other side. I remember thinking after the tornado that this is more serious than I thought. Then I saw on TV the tornado that went through Moore and thats when I really learned. I won't mess around when it comes to storms in Oklahoma again. Great story it was really creative and had a good message!
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