Tornadoes

A strange thing happened when a tornado hit the farm of Clyde Vinson in the small town of Orestes, Indiana in 1922. The home was picked up and set down about one hundred feet from where it originally stood. The dining table and furniture were damaged and most everything was rearranged but the hanging oil lamp was still hanging suspended from the ceiling and continued to send out rays of light throughout the night. A basket of eggs that was sitting in the dining room was not disturbed.


In 2000, a tornado raged through Tarrant County. I don’t have any information regarding anything similar happening during this storm but you can bet some bizarre things happened.
I was a mile away from the storm when it passed through. My neighborhood experienced some high winds and heavy rains but sustained no major damage.
The storm hit late in the day but it was still daylight.
News broadcasters were beginning to show up at many of the areas hit hardest.

I never considered myself a gawker but I’m as curious as the next guy.
So shortly after dark, I headed to Monticello, a west-side neighborhood in Fort Worth filled with elegant older homes. On my way to downtown to view the damage done to several of Fort Worth's landmarks, I was quickly turned away. Too many power lines and trees were down. There were no street lights and more gawkers were coming out.

It was just as well. I was already beginning to get uneasy, seeing what devastation that an ordinary tornado can do to an ordinary neighborhood.

It’s anthropological, I’m sure, but is there something inherently wrong about being so curious when it comes to someone else’s misfortune? Perhaps it’s nothing more than feeling lucky; grateful that it wasn’t me.
Knowing that it could easily be my house with the roof that's gone or my house that's ripped completely off its foundation. Or worse.

My consolation is that it is an inherited trait; I didn’t invent curiosity.
I'd like to think that all my bad traits are inherited and all my good ones are acquired but I know better.

Now many years after, Fort Worth, Arlington and other cities who were smitten by Mother Nature and her wrath have completely restored their communities.
That is a good thing.