Post by Serviceable Villain on Jan 19, 2010 18:31:56 GMT -5
Tell me something interesting about yourself that I won't find in the Introduction forum.
I have a couple stories in mind about myself.
I was born at sunrise, 7:28am. Thus, I am the son who rose at sunrise. Shortly thereafter I was submerged into a tank of water. This is not to be confused with a water birth in which the mother sits in a tub of water during labor. Standard birth, followed by immersion. I can't say why. My mother was zonked out after labor and my father was still half-drunk from the night before. No waivers or anything. My dad gave them verbal consent and watched in amazement as (he claims) I "swam like a fish."
The year was 1983 by the way. Its because of this that I like to claim that I am the reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix. (1983... A Merman I Should Turn to Be)
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In 1992 my family and I were attending a graduation party at a large local park. It was summertime and extremely hot that day. Late in the afternoon it began to cool down and light rain started to fall as a group of us were playing volleyball. At the time we welcomed the drizzle and continued on with the game.
Soon, a park ranger pulled up and informed us that strong storms were in the forecast and he advised us to pack up our things and head for home. No big deal.
As the rains slowly intensified I began to feel uneasy. I was 9 yrs old and I could pick up on the tension and panic setting in among the adults. By this time, their laid back approach to cleaning up had shifted to a frantic pace.
My worry led me to the car. I figured the sooner I got there, the sooner we could leave. I distinctly remember looking to my left to see clouds and debris rushing over some treetops and my dad making the 20 yard dash to get me from the car. For a moment I irrationally thought that if we left our things and took off NOW, we could escape.
Then reality set in... I was convinced I was living the final moments of my life...
You see, the setup of this particular park is situated within a river valley. The only way in (or out) is through a steep curving road while the other end of the park (where we were at) is walled off by the steep cliff that runs along the river.
I took refuge with the others underneath picnic tables at our pavilion. I curled up and grabbed hold of my mom with one arm and held the underside of the table with my other as she was kneeling crouched over, using her body to shelter my sister who was 6 months old. I remember someone yelling, "IF YOU FEEL THE TABLE LIFT UP, LET GO!!!"
As for all those stories you hear of a tornado sounding like a freight train... I heard no such thing. Then again, I was too terrified to really focus on the details. Apparently one guy was giving a play-by-play of the destruction going on around us. I don't even remember hearing his voice.
It was a blur, but certain things stand out.
I remember excessively shivering, half out of being cold and half out of being scared. I remember what felt like hail hitting me, which I suppose was actually rocks, sticks, and rain being hurled vertically toward us at 100+ miles per hour or so. I remember the force of the tornado bombarding us for what felt like an hour but was probably only 60 seconds. I remember the relief I felt when it let up momentarily, only to bombard us again for what felt like another hour (but was probably no more than 60 seconds).
All I can figure about that last detail is that it reached the cliff which forced it to swing around in a circle before it found a place to hop over because unlike hurricanes, there is no calm eye involved with a tornado.
Had I known I would survive, I would have done what my dad did. He watched until it was too painful to keep his eyes open and his face exposed. He watched it uproot a massive tree, turn it over, and gently set it back to the ground.
Finally, I remember it being pitch black when we left and by the time we reached our house (a measly 7-10 minute drive) it was sunny outside.
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Your turn!
I have a couple stories in mind about myself.
I was born at sunrise, 7:28am. Thus, I am the son who rose at sunrise. Shortly thereafter I was submerged into a tank of water. This is not to be confused with a water birth in which the mother sits in a tub of water during labor. Standard birth, followed by immersion. I can't say why. My mother was zonked out after labor and my father was still half-drunk from the night before. No waivers or anything. My dad gave them verbal consent and watched in amazement as (he claims) I "swam like a fish."
The year was 1983 by the way. Its because of this that I like to claim that I am the reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix. (1983... A Merman I Should Turn to Be)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 1992 my family and I were attending a graduation party at a large local park. It was summertime and extremely hot that day. Late in the afternoon it began to cool down and light rain started to fall as a group of us were playing volleyball. At the time we welcomed the drizzle and continued on with the game.
Soon, a park ranger pulled up and informed us that strong storms were in the forecast and he advised us to pack up our things and head for home. No big deal.
As the rains slowly intensified I began to feel uneasy. I was 9 yrs old and I could pick up on the tension and panic setting in among the adults. By this time, their laid back approach to cleaning up had shifted to a frantic pace.
My worry led me to the car. I figured the sooner I got there, the sooner we could leave. I distinctly remember looking to my left to see clouds and debris rushing over some treetops and my dad making the 20 yard dash to get me from the car. For a moment I irrationally thought that if we left our things and took off NOW, we could escape.
Then reality set in... I was convinced I was living the final moments of my life...
You see, the setup of this particular park is situated within a river valley. The only way in (or out) is through a steep curving road while the other end of the park (where we were at) is walled off by the steep cliff that runs along the river.
I took refuge with the others underneath picnic tables at our pavilion. I curled up and grabbed hold of my mom with one arm and held the underside of the table with my other as she was kneeling crouched over, using her body to shelter my sister who was 6 months old. I remember someone yelling, "IF YOU FEEL THE TABLE LIFT UP, LET GO!!!"
As for all those stories you hear of a tornado sounding like a freight train... I heard no such thing. Then again, I was too terrified to really focus on the details. Apparently one guy was giving a play-by-play of the destruction going on around us. I don't even remember hearing his voice.
It was a blur, but certain things stand out.
I remember excessively shivering, half out of being cold and half out of being scared. I remember what felt like hail hitting me, which I suppose was actually rocks, sticks, and rain being hurled vertically toward us at 100+ miles per hour or so. I remember the force of the tornado bombarding us for what felt like an hour but was probably only 60 seconds. I remember the relief I felt when it let up momentarily, only to bombard us again for what felt like another hour (but was probably no more than 60 seconds).
All I can figure about that last detail is that it reached the cliff which forced it to swing around in a circle before it found a place to hop over because unlike hurricanes, there is no calm eye involved with a tornado.
Had I known I would survive, I would have done what my dad did. He watched until it was too painful to keep his eyes open and his face exposed. He watched it uproot a massive tree, turn it over, and gently set it back to the ground.
Finally, I remember it being pitch black when we left and by the time we reached our house (a measly 7-10 minute drive) it was sunny outside.
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Your turn!
"