Tornado Watch

Today has been a tremendously exciting day for us here in Pensacola, Florida. Late morning the daughter-in-law of our boss, Mr. Reeves, rang the office to tell us that she noticed a tornado around the vicinity of the Civic Center, scarcely 800 m from our office.

Of course, I thought she was joking - who wouldn't? However, I thanked her politely and walked into the office where the rest had congregated to discuss accounting issues and let them in on the "joke".

My colleague and fellow Christian told me not the fear - but I was really not afraid. More incredulous. It was a little exciting, but more still it was a little hard to swallow.

We walked out the back of the building and watched it go up Ninth Avenue towards the shopping mall, Sacred Heart Hospital, Target and my bank. It was quite eerie because to the uninformed it would have looked like dense white steam or some strange clouds. Of course, the sky was extremely dark and ominous.

However, I saw no cows or cars circling in the tornado so I didn't fee,l to intimidated - not after seeing Twister several times.

Sadly, as it reached Ninth Avenue it did do partial damage to parts of roofs of some establishments. Mostly, I think that people had been scared.

News traveled fast. A house on Gregory and 'A' St. had been picked up and moved. A car down the road from our house was picked up and tossed around. Cars in the Target parking lot were overturned.

Larry's mom is the Greenhouse Manager for a wholesale nursery/florist in Pensacola and her greenhouse roof also got damaged by the tornado.

Our house is fine and so are our cars, but I thank God for that. It would have really been terrible to have to see my car flipped over. It looks so easy when a tornado does it, but undoing it or flipping it back will not save the issue.

I think the lesson that we learned today is that God is in control and that regardless of our extensive technology we are still incapable of making accurate predictions in something as simple as the weather.

And, I would like to add, that I have a much bigger appreciation for hurricanes - although just as deadly and destructive. At least with hurricanes you have days to prepare and leave town - you can even put hurricane shutters on your windows and cover up doors or move your vehicles into covered storage. But a tornado is completely impulsive. It gives no warning at all and you can do nothing about it. If it hits your house, say goodbye. At least with hurricanes you can still save most of your house.

But, once again, beggars cannot be choosers.