Today we were in Massachusetts in the path of a tornado. We didn't have prior knowledge of it coming because we were in the mall most of the morning.
When I first heard of it I was sitting in the nail salon, getting my nails done. My phone suddenly squawked, emitting the tornado warning sound alert several times. The nail guy said, "What is that?"
I said, "A severe weather warning alert." But I didn't pick up the phone to look at it.
He said, "What's that for?"
Since I was watching the TV in the salon that they had tuned to the news, I saw what was going on.
"Tornado warning." I said. "It's on the TV."
The giant red swoosh on the screen was directly over the town we were in, warning of a tornado in Southern Worcester County until 5:15pm. It was 4:30. Earlier this morning, Revere, Mass., just an hour east of where we were, was hit with an EF-2 tornado that did quite a bit of damage.
All the staff in the salon were speaking quickly in their native language. Every few words I heard an excited "Tornado! Tornado!"
The guy doing my nails said, "Scary."
I said, "Well, apparently not scary enough since everyone here are still getting their nails done."
But I had a close eye on the television. It looked bad. The entire area was orange and red. The weather man had fear in his eyes.
I texted Ed, "Tornado warning. Come to the salon."
He texted back, "Small pants warning." and he sent a picture of himself in a dressing room, trying on shorts. He's lost 27 pounds and the shorts he's currently wearing look like they belong to someone else, so he was looking for new ones.
"I don't like those." I texted back. "They do fit better though."
He sent another picture.
"There is a tornado warning right now. The staff in the salon is wigging out, "tornado! tornado!". It's on the news right now." I texted.
He texted back a picture of him in a different pair of shorts, and "I know about the tornado."
"Wow. SKINNY," I texted. "90-100 mph winds they're saying."
"What about these shorts?" he texted, sending another picture of him in what looked like camouflage print shorts. Or flowers, I couldn't tell.
"Are those flowers or camo?" I texted.
"Camo." he texted.
"Are you in Macy's?" I texted.
"Yeah. The first pair is $24.99, the other ones $14.99. Sky is clear outside."
"Clear sky is a warning." I texted back. Bad news. The calm before the storm.
I can't believe there was a tornado warning, being reported with urgency on TV, and while I'm trying to get Ed to come get me at the salon, he's texting me pictures of him trying on shorts.
He finally sauntered in just as my nails were drying. We left the salon and walked back into the mall where not a thing looked different. Everyone was moseying around, shopping like normal.
We walked out to the truck, looking at the post-storm sky.
We made it out alive.
Here's a panorama shot of the truck in the Macy's parking lot. Click to make it bigger.
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2013: Another Home Run By Big Ed
2012: A Window On New Mexico
2011: My Man Makes A Mad Meal
2010: Less Is Not More In All Cases
2009: Grain Gone By
2008: The Absolute Beauty Of It
2007: Not Only Did He Pray, He Posed
2006: Camera Phone Coolness
2005: Life Is A Salt Shaker