Very First Tornado

My family had recently moved from California to Tennessee in early 1998.  As we drove the 2,200 miles across the country, we only had one rule for listening to the radio.  If a DC Talk, Steven Curtis Chapman, or Sting song came on the radio, you weren’t allowed to change the channel.  Otherwise, if you didn’t like the song, you could request that the radio be put back on “scan.”  To say we were big fans of those three artists would be quite an understatement.  Unbeknownst to us, DC Talk and Steven Curtis Chapman actually lived in the middle Tennessee area where we were moving.

That first year, our Tennessee experience was quite different from our California experience:  humidity, cicadas, accents, tornadoes, and the pace of life just to name a few.  We were experts at surviving earthquakes, but we had never experienced a tornado before.

In April that year, there were two days of tornado outbreaks.  On the second day, thirteen tornadoes swept through the middle Tennessee area where we lived.  Two tornadoes even touched down in Nashville.  There was a great deal of damage as a result.

I remember my first tornado like it was yesterday.  I worked in the office at our church in downtown Franklin, Tennessee.  Many of the office staff personnel were listening to the weather reports on their computers, streaming local television station’s news reports.

There was a twister headed our way.  First it was going to pass by Beau’s school, then Sarah’s school and make its way toward the church.  I truly didn’t have any idea how dangerous this was.  Fortunately, the tornado did not touch down as it went straight over Beau’s school.  Then it went off course a bit and totally missed Sarah’s school.  I was grateful that they both were alright.

According to weather reports, the tornado was headed our way and would be there in approximately 15 minutes.  It was 12:30 p.m.  I hadn’t had lunch yet.  So, I decided that I would run down the street to Merridee’s for a quick deli sandwich before the tornado arrived.  I knew that we would all be evacuating to the basement and I felt sure that I could be back in time.  I asked if anyone else wanted something and they clearly communicated that I was crazy for leaving the building during an oncoming storm.  But when I went outside it wasn’t even raining.  

I got in my car and pulled around the office building.  As I turned onto Third Street, I noticed that all three members of the Christian Rap/Rock band, DC Talk (Michael, Kevin, and Toby) were standing on the corner looking up into the sky.  I had to do a double take.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  With the impending storm, I just kept thinking, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”  I stared at the band while I waited at the stop sign for my turn to go.  

I hurried to the end of the block, bought my sandwich and drink, and sped back to the office as quickly as possible.  By now it was torrentially raining; the wind was blowing so hard I was nearly knocked off of my feet.  I parked my van and ran to the side door.  Unbelievably, it was locked.  I knocked and knocked.  No response.  I felt around in my purse and found my keys and let myself into the office.  All the lights were out and it was completely deserted.

Since I was new to this job, I didn’t know where the basement was.  I searched in every room and behind every door.  I never found stairs leading down to a basement.  I had no idea what to do.  I was experiencing my very first tornado totally alone.

I left all the lights off and went into my office.  I had a massive desk that was actually built into the wall.  I was confident that it was one of the sturdiest pieces of furniture in the building.  My office was on the bottom floor and I felt like that was a better decision to stay there than to run upstairs to take cover.  So, my chicken salad sandwich, sweet tea, and I took cover under my desk while one of the worst storms I had ever experienced raged outside my window.

It probably lasted only a few minutes, but it felt like an hour.  I really had never quite felt so all alone.

After the tornado passed, I heard voices coming up the walkway.  I looked out the window hoping to see DC Talk again.  However, all I saw was my co-workers coming back over to the offices from the church sanctuary across the street.  Apparently when they said basement, they didn’t mean in our building but in the massive church building across the road.  

I unlocked the door and let them in.  I turned all the lights in the building back on.  I started back to my desk.  But a few of the ladies inquired as to how I was and how I faired during the storm.  I told them all that had happened and they were really surprised that I was alright.

I honestly had no idea how close I was cutting it.  I thought the tornado would hit in 15 minutes and I could be back in 10 minutes.  I didn’t realize that the storm wasn’t on a schedule.  I truly had learned my lesson that day.  Tornadoes were a very dangerous natural phenomenon.  Fortunately for Franklin, TN that day, the tornado just passed on by us.

A few minutes after all the excitement had died down, I decided to walk back out to the front desk to find out if anyone knew anything about why DC Talk just appeared out of the sky on our corner and was gone by the time I got back.  I told them I thought for a second that I must be in Oz.  The ladies started laughing at me.  Cindy explained to me that DC Talk owned the house/recording studio two doors down from our office building and that they must have taken a break from recording to check out the tornado.  The ladies thought I was so funny to think that I arrived in Oz during the storm . . . and that DC talk was there as well!

(c) 2013 Diane LeJeune and Feeling Good Entertainment, LLC (c) 2013 "Tribal Tales"