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Wednesday, April 4, 2012

What's That Sound

I don't care if you live with a tribe of never before discovered people, there are certain sounds of the modern world that will make your brain click that you are in danger.

Take for instance the sound of a pump shotgun chambering a shell. That sound is so distinct that if you have never heard it before, it will still stop you in your tracks. It triggers that alarm in your brain that tells you danger, danger.

The first time I ever heard a tornado siren I was in my mid twenties, working a water leak late one night for the city I was currently employed at.  A storm was rolling in and I was trying to work as fast as possible. That is when the sirens went off. Like I said, I have never heard them before and did not know what that loud high pitched sound was but I knew I was in danger. I remember panic set in because the sound was so deafening and I did not know what to do. All I wanted to do was get away from it. I remember trying to just run but then thinking I had my truck there so I ran back to it. I didn't know where to drive, I actually drove in circles not knowing where to go. The sound was so loud is completely screwed up all rational thought. It was only until the next day I knew what the sound meant.   

Yesterday evening a lot of tornadoes touched down in the DFW area. Many homes and businesses were lost. I work right in the middle of all that mess. I was up on a new bridge we are building watching the storms roll in knowing the danger they had in store for us. I was fine until the tornado sirens went off. Instant panic shot through me. That sound, so loud, I was wanting to duck and cover just from it alone. I could have stayed up on that bridge the whole time taking pictures of the funnel clouds dancing all around but that noise made me take cover.
On my way to the nearest solid structure, I called the wife. The storms had already wrapped around the metroplex and was heading for my little town. She was bugging out as we talked on the phone. Being over an hour away, at least I knew she would be safe at the tornado bug out location we set up last year.

Our house is still standing this morning. I am thankful the storms split around and spared our little town. It is sad others did not fair so well.    
          

20 comments:

  1. I'm sad for the folks that were hit, but glad to hear that you guys came through ok!

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  2. thank goodness you are all ok - i feel so bad for the others who did not fair so well. but i am really glad that you, your family, house and little town are ok! i have never heard a tornado warning sound but your description has the hair standing up on the back of my neck!

    your friend,
    kymber

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  3. Thank you kymber. I was just talking with a guy who said his house was the only one on his block that did not get much damage. All the rest was in bad shape.

    I thought when I wrote this earlier I was one of the only people who had not heard a tornado siren before the time I did. I don't guess they got them up there hu. Lucky you because I don't know what it is about that sound, but I would rather hear two cats fighting.

    Thanks for stopping by.

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  4. Glad you and yours are safe. Watch out for falling trailers. I here they get pretty good hang time.

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    1. SK- I will make sure I zig instead of zag, Thanks for the comment.

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  5. Was thinking about you all when I heard about the tornadoes. Glad your family and home are ok. So sorry about all the other damage. You can't second guess Mother Nature, all you can do is prepare for it as best you can. Thank goodness for warnings.

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    1. Thank you DFW
      It is hard to prep for tornadoes. Most of the time there is little notice and when they are moving 40 mph or better, it kinda leaves you hopeless.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  6. I was watching the news this morning and there was a house in Forny that waas totaly demolished except 2 walls the side and end of a bathtub mind you no other walls or the roof were just those two walls and rthe bath tub in that bathtub was a grandmother and 3 small children they were completely unharmed there in that bathtub I do really believe that Gods hands were covering them when the rest of the house went

    I was also watching the weather last evening when the radar showed the storm clouds part just before they got to our area then they went back together after it passed Gods hands were there too protecting all of us and answering my prayers not to rain much because we have hay to cut and didn't want our gardens torn up and most of our house as we have no place to go in case of a storm so sorry for the people that lost so much but at least those very loud sirens warned them to take cover have heard them when I worked in Denton and you are so right about how irritating they are
    Thank God you were not hurt while you were at work

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  7. Wow, It sure sounds like he did play a big part in that one.

    I thought it was amazing how the clouds parted over all us up here and we got nothing more than a sprinkle.
    I was watching it roll in and believe me, when those alarms went off all I wanted to do was take cover.
    Thanks Mom for commenting.

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  8. Glad to hear everyone is ok. I am kind of a storm fanatic (let me point out I like when the tornadoes hit fields and nothing else) so I was watching on live web cams as the storm chasers chased those storms. You could hear the sirens blaring through the vehicles as they went down the road, with some almost panicking when they saw where it was headed....scary stuff but thank God no one was killed.

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    1. Thanks Coley, the wife is the same way. The only reason I was on the bridge taking pictures was because she told me to.

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  9. I've seen three tornados so far in my life. I don't care if I ever see anymore. When I heard about those storms I kept checking your blog to see if you guys were ok. I'm so glad to see you guys made it safe and sound. So sad about all the others.

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    1. Awww, thank you SFG. Yes it is sad about all the other losses. The one good thing is I don't think there were any loss of life in all this.

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  10. we get a LOT of tornados here in northeast mississippi..and being out in the country we do not hear sirens going off...the best thing to know is how to smell the air, watch the colouring of the sky, and when the treetops start spinning it is time to take shelter NOW. all of our surrounding counties get their weather watch reports from nearby while the county i live in has to depend on weatherwatch from memphis tennessee..go figure. anyway, it pays to be alert to the changes in the air..watch and listen to your animals, smell the air, if the sky takes on a yellow greenish cast, and even if the hairs on your neck stand at attention..then you know, something is coming and it aint good. glad you and yours came thru okay and unharmed.

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    1. I agree Anony, listen to your inner animal, right. Yesterday we bought a weather radio that has all the alerts. But even with the nice little alert radio, we will still have to pay close attention to the skies. I am more afraid of a rain wrapped tornado when you can't see it coming.
      Thank you for your concern.

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  11. I am glad you and yours are safe. I drove everyone on Facebook crazy monitoring and posting regarding the storms. Our youngest was in Greenville when the tornado hit there and his girlfriend was at Commerce A&M where it headed after that. For a long time we couldn't get in touch with our son in Greenville but FINALLY he answered a text message when we told him his girlfriend was afraid and wanted to know if he was alright. Go figure he would answer for his girlfriend and not his Moms.

    I felt so powerless most of the time and just prayed they would all be safe. Posting was a way for me to release all that fear. At least I felt like I was doing something even if I was just spinning in circles. - Genevieve

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    1. Thanks G. Yea I was reading your posts on FB to see how y'all were getting by. I am glad y'all are safe as well.

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  12. So very glad to hear that you are all ok. You did something that I mentioned on FB that day as I watched the news coverage online...you made the choice for your safety rather than be like these fools who stand outside and take video of the tornado coming at them and their home. Bravo!! Your family needs you more than they need a video.

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    1. Thank you Stephanie.
      I think my exact words to my guys were, "I ain't playing, I'm gone"

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