Don't worry, It's normal!

Last night at work, just as I finished coloring my last client, something I've been dreading happened. Oh, the sirens went off!!! My sister-in-law called my cell phone to inform me that a tornado was heading my way. ;) (Thanks for the tip!) We turned the radio on and don't worry. There were 2 on either side of us. Since the salon has beaucoup windows we decided to go down the street to the "Cackle Hatchery" to my boss' grandma's store where we knew there was a basement. Locked. I stood in the hail ringing the bell like a mad woman, jumped back in the car because Nicole couldn't reach anyone on her cell. (Nicole being the boss) So we decide to go to her grandma's house. No basement there, but we had a key. By this time her significant other is in his truck behind us. Nicole reassures me that this isn't that big of a deal...yet. We are almost there when a huge burst of lightening reveals just in front of us a wall cloud. For those of you not privelidged to live in a freaky state, such as Missouri, it means a tornado is forming right before your eyes. I didn't see anything because, honestly, who looks for that? Nicole turns around and Mark (her man) calls us and we decide to go to his mom's house. Nicole is no longer calm. Her 8 month old is. He was sleeping like a babe in the back seat. Thank goodness. We reach highway 44 (the house is 10 min. away if you go the speed limit) and the radio says the other tornado is at highway 44. Umm....Nicole? At 20 mph I thought we would never get there! It looked like we were driving under a waterfall with 70+ mph winds (so says the radio). Meanwhile the radio is telling us to get out of our car. Hmmm....blown away in a car, or blown away in water....with a baby. What would you do? We kept driving. Me praying non-stop in my head, Nicole praying out loud. (you have to know Nicole to truly appreciate this story. She's tough and NOT afraid of tornadoes. At all - which tells you how bad it really was) I relived my childhood with the common question of, "Are we there yet?" Couldn't be helped. We pulled up to the house and the rains stopped. We ran inside and the storm just passed (the house, not us) Yeah, we drove right through the worst of it. I don't want to know how close we were to the tornado. We had to stay there until the watch was over which was about 15 minutes because those things move fast. We got back in the car and there were cracks (the kind that go completely through) all over the windshield and side windows. For those of you who have been in car accidents, you know the really bad headache that follows from being so tense? I got me one of those. Still. I hate watching scary movies because I hate being scared. I definitely got my fill for the year. The only difference besides one being real, is I didn't have my husband to cuddle up to. Clark? Hurry back!!!

Things I've Learned...

In Missouri there are a lot of things that are different. Here's a few things I've picked up on so far... Anything "Skank" = "Ghetto" (ie: "That's skank-nasty!") The only exception to the rule is "skank-a-licious" which translates to: "That's hot!" Cows can swim. I tell the truth, I saw one. It was weird. People here refer to MO as the Fast Food Capitol of the World. One man said, "Relationships in Missouri are weird. If there's a problem the answer is always to have another baby." It's not uncommon for 15yr. olds and 20 yr. olds to date. If you're driving on a country road, a barf bag is a must if you are the passenger. If you're the one driving you're okay - as long as you aren't eating while you drive. (don't worry, I've experienced both) "Wall cloud" or is it "Cloud wall" or is it "funnel cloud"? Well, whatever it is, it translates to GO THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AND RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!! (I'll explain that one in my next post)