The sirens went off here on Tuesday three times. No, there were no planes bombing the metropolis of Hudson; no, there were no tornadoes, or even wall clouds. Actually, there was blue sky peaking out from the clouds, and not one drop of rain fell all day.
When I was a kid, if the siren sounded you threw your body headlong for the basement because there was a tornado on top of your house. Now when they go off I find myself tuning them out, knowing that most likely it is only a severe thunderstorm, somewhere in St. Croix county. Thus the three sirens on Tuesday: all were storms up near the northern border of our expansive county, near New Richmond.
When this really irks me is at 3am when the ear-splitting ghoulish wail wakes up parents and children alike, sending the house into fear-induced insomnia. For a thunderstorm in New Richmond!
Beyond the annoyance of the excessive alarms is my fear that someday, when it really matters (ie when a tornado really is on top of my or your house), we might not listen. As in the story about the boy who cried "wolf!", will we just assume all is well when it really isn't, because we have heard the false cry of danger too many times? Hope not. But I keep thinking that we should go back to the "old days" when the siren sounded for actual tornado warnings, not just dime-sized hail and a little wind, and definitely not for a town that's 20 miles away!
I feel like Andy Rooney.
18 comments:
Amen! My neighbor suggested that if we're going to have this policy of always notifying when there's any severe thunderstorm in the county, then we should have one kind of sound/warning for that, and another for approaching tornadoes/storms close by. Otherwise it will be exactly as you said--someday people will really get hurt because there WILL be something severe and we won't know to have listened.
Ear-splitting ghoulish wail!
The best thing about the whole blog thing is seeing what good writers my friends are.
Incidentally, that is the name of my new band. . . . and the style of music we play. We are performing at the next tornado warning.
Saweet, Ed! Please can I have a t-shirt?
Jen, R We going out tonight or what?!
Tempting, but no--my hubby's still gone at staff retreat and then has to go to Fairview Hospital to visit a youth who is having a procedure. Can you feel my been-home-with-the-kids-without-my-hubby-to-help-for-three-days vibe all the way from River Falls?
It was like 99 and hot here on Tuesday, It did rain on Thurs. though...And the news reporters were all over it. Every channel had cut into programming with their emergency ticker tape. You know, there might be a hook echo or something, or an el ninio, or a global warming catastrophe!
Thank goodness you live behind that big hill, and you have a real basement~
Now if you could just really know when to go in it.........
We actually did go into it a few weeks ago, but that wasn't due to any siren. It was right at bedtime, so I reluctantly pulled the kids to the middle level as Brian called from church to find out from me what was coming towards us. Then Jay said he saw a window fall and I started screaming at the kids to get downstairs. Ethan was freaking out that our cat was going to die, but after the melee was over, there really was a broken storm window on the front lawn that had blown off of the boys' window. Still don't have all the glass out of the grass!
Yep, I am feeling your vibe.
(Actually- I saw you on KN's comments)
:)
Sheesh we should be IM ing each other.......
Seriously...how long could we make this comment chain? :)
Give it a couple days, I am sure it will get longer~
I have a naked wet baby running through my house from the baby pool, I better scat:)
Adios-
Before she does! heehee!
I like your labels.
If you ignore the sirens and your house falls on Hillary Clinton with a bunch of little people singing about the lollipop Guild...maybe you'll remember to save those red shoes...
Swampy! You kill me!
We should start a petition to the town that the sirens only go off if there is a TORNADO WARNING in our immediate vicinity.
And I think it is funny that you used "ear splitting ghoulish wail" as a label. So now if anyone Googles that phrase, you will be top dog.
One would think so, Kristi, but sadly, no. I googled the phrase but didn't turn up in the first 7 pages of results on Google. So just what do those labels do anyway? I think we are being scammed.
Andy Rooney, hahahahahah!
I think you're going for the record on comments, here.
Did I tell you Wade googled himself and your blog came up? :)
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