Organizations that are helping the community of Monroe, OK:
- Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
- Portlight
- American Red Cross
- Feed the Children
- Central Oklahoma Humane Society
- Tulsa Community Foundation
I watched the Oklahoma storms roll through as I watched storms roll over my head. I have family in Oklahoma, and they appeared to be in the path of the storm that hit Moore, but it broke up before reaching them. As I watched the coverage of Moore unfold, storms were building and approaching us here in Michigan, too. The light dimmed, and a constant rumble or roar could be heard outside. This went on for several minutes without letting up once, a noise that was eerie, not something we’ve heard up here before. Then the storm hit, and it hit so hard that even inside, we had to all back away from the windows and eventually close the ones facing the storm. Hail came pouring down, some of it dime sized, littering the porch. Branches came down all over the neighborhood, rain pouring so hard it washed most of the window paint off the van. But within 5 minutes or so, it was mostly over, although the roaring rumble lasted for another 5 or 10 minutes after the hail stopped. Just big enough to be exciting, not big enough to cause much damage (although somebody up the road had half a tree land on their front porch).
I do love storms. I love being in them, even when it gets scary. I’ve been thinking all day about how I reconcile that love and thrill with the pain and sorrow I feel for the folks in Moore. I think the best I can say is that it is yet another example of light and dark. The storms are a force of nature. They bring life, and they destroy. They scare, and they excite. The storms themselves are a mix of dark, sun-blocking clouds and bright streaks of lightning, of warm rain and cold hail, of eerie silence and crashing thunder. Yesterday, a storm brought me pleasure, while another storm was destroying lives. Another day, it may be my life turned upside-down or ended by a storm, while another storm-chaser watches in the distance. So it goes. As with any natural disaster, we clean up and help those we can. Please take a look at the organizations I listed above and help if you can, even if you are far away like I am.