Tornado Tuesday: My Top 10 CBS Contemplations
10. Scary, stormy days are a part of life in North Texas. Tornadoes happen. Hail often unleashes its fury. But I don't remember a day quite like April 3, 2012. A dozen tornadoes – including at least four major twisters of F3 power – touched down south of Dallas, cutting a path of destruction basically along I-20 from west of 35 all the way to east of 45. Wow.
9. Before the storms had fully left town, the Metroplex was already picking up the pieces. Props to Charlie Evans at Vandegriff Honda, who pledged to match dollar-for-dollar donations to the American Red Cross to help the folks badly hit in south Arlington. Sad that it takes times when we're torn apart to really bring us together.
8. I still don't fully understand tornadoes, but I sure as heck respect them. If you needed a reminder of their power, 18-wheeler tractor-trailers thrown 100 feet in the air should do the trick.
7. While we are fixated and fascinated by the photos and videos of the tornadoes, I'm pretty sure it's not worth getting in harm's way to record the images. The reward? A viral video you can call your own. The risk? A tombstone with your name on it.
6. When the mayors of Arlington and Lancaster quickly called for a "State of Disaster", I thought they were overreacting. But seeing the sheer destruction of homes into rubble this morning, nope. It's a disaster alright.
5. In Forney there are images this morning of a giant, wooden 2x4 injected into a car windshield and cars literally flipped on top of one another. Even Criss Angel can't explain that one.
4. Destruction. Debris. Disbelief. Chainsaws. Trucks. Aid. Volunteers. Tears. Hugs. Healing. Hope.
3. Our radio show on 105.3 The Fan was lucky. On remote at the Pollo Campero restaurant on I-30 5 miles east of Dallas, we received nothing but rain, wind and a brief sprinkling of Tic-Tac-sized hail. Because of severe, close lightning strikes we were forced off the air for 15 minutes and we had a plan to scamper into the restaurant's walk-in freezer. Scary. Surreal. But in the end, safe.
2. That there apparently only 18 injured and no deaths reported with any of these storms is miraculous, a testament to warnings and, perhaps, divine intervention. But, then again, it prompted me to wake up today with this question: Why did God create tornadoes in the first place?
1. If nothing else, yesterday was a grim reminder at the awesome power of Mother Nature. Despite all our modern advancements, we are powerless when she really gets pissed.
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