Tornado's...Miss me.

When I left the south, I figured I was leaving behind the threat of tornadoes as well. I have been through a good amount of terrifying tornado threats, where when the siren would ring, we would run for the basement and a room with no windows. Here- in Forest Hills, New York, there are no such things as tornado sirens. But, for me, I didn't even see the storm. I did not see the winds, feel the rain or hear the lightning of the terrifying storm- why? because I was still on the E train coming home from work. Here's the story:

So, on Thursday afternoon around 5:00, I checked the weather.com- I knew it was suppose to storm at some point in the afternoon, but the timing was a little iffy. The radar said rain around 6:00ish- so I figured If I left the office at 5:15, my aunt could pick me up from the subway if it was raning. I said bye to my office mate and headed for the tunnel. The sky was eerie in Manhattan, and the weather was muggy, but I thought nothing of it. I did't care if it stormed in Manhattan, I am going to Queens, so off to the E train I went. There was nothing out of the ordinary. My i-pod was pumping, I finished 4 easy puzzles and the man next to me reeked of BO and was standing a little to close for comfort. Again, like I said, nothing out of the ordinary.

Once the train landed at 71st Street- I walked towards the South side exit- there was a bit of commotion and a man directing train riders to go to a different exit because there was glass on the ground. This did not phase me, maybe a homeless man dropped his shopping cart of bottles or something like that, so I headed for the other exit.

When I emerged form the tunnel to the outside street- at first I did not notice anything because my eyes were directed at the ground (I was in flip flops and did not want to step in anything), and then I noticed glass- and my vision extended- more glass, then I saw a building sign on the ground, and I finally looked up and Fores Hills looked somewhat like war zone. Building signs were everywhere- glass shards scattered all over the streets- the bank's door was bent- tree branches lying in the middle of the road. I was puzzled. A girl about my age was standing next to me and I asked her what happened and she said she had no idea. We over heard a man walk by us saying there was a tornado. A TORNADO??? I did not even know those existed in the north east.

This tornado ripped apart my aunts neighborhood- I mean, trees down in streets to the point were even trying to walk in between them was unsafe. The second everything processed in my brain, I called my aunt to make sure she was safe- which she was. Then she insisted on coming to pick me up. I explained to her how bad the damage was and she wouldn't be able to get to me by car- but she is a little stubborn and told me where to stand and she said she would be there. She also informed me that she could not find her cell phone- which in times like these, a cell phone is necessary. So she was off to save the day. I waited for 45 minutes for her... and she never showed. I called her cell phone (even though it was pointless) and her house phone and no answers. I decided it was time to head back to her house- dark was setting in, the temperature started to drop and honestly, I was getting tired and a little fed up with waiting.

The walk that typically takes 8 minutes, ended up taking 45- because of all the debris, broken glass, glass hanging from apartment buildings, a lot of the streets were closed and foot traffic was basically a maze. Finally, once I made it back, my aunt was waiting for me at the corner. Her first words to me, "It was insane to drive, I couldn't get anywhere." All I could think was DUH, I told you that! But some people don't know unless they experience.

But all in all- My main point- Tornadoes happen as rare as blizzards happen in Atlanta, and of course, when I move up here, the supernatural happens, I guess they just like to follow me..

So lesson learned: Be prepared, bring an umbrella.

Peace, Love and We are safe,

B