TORNADOPHOBIA

I have a bad case of "tornadophobia". I don't even know if that's a word, but it sure as hell should be.And I only found out about it today. Now that I've calmed down and started to think about it, I think I know what's going on..

 It all started in early childhood.

(If you don't mind, I'll just lie down over here while telling this.)

Every year the tornado scene in "The Wizard of Oz" terrified me. But strangely, year after year, I kept watching it, always making sure I saw the very beginning of the film, so as not to miss the tornado, knowing that I would be horrified when it came on.

I always thought the movie crew went out into the middle of Kansas, and just waited until a twister came along, then filmed it. Somebody told mre recently however that they artificially created their own tornado special effect. I'm still not sure. How could they have done that in 1938?

A little less than a year ago I was in the monster tornado which ripped through and destroyed half of Joplin, Missouri, and for a few weeks after that, I kept my eye on the sky, had dreams about tornados, and feared every passing thunderhead.

I had been out jogging right before the tornado hit Joplin. I saw a big black anvil in the western sky, but thought nothing of it, assumed it was just a rain cloud. Only when golf ball sized hail starting landing at my feet did I begin to grasp the severity of the situation, and head for shelter. My lack of concern nearly cost me my life.

I barely got to the shelter, then watched through a slit-window forty and firty foot trees bending over and touching the ground. After leaving the shelter we slowly began to realize the extent of the devastation, billions of dollars of damage, more than one hundred sixty dead.

So now here we go again. Once again, its tornado season across the midwest and south; hell, its tornado season across america. Readers of The Truthless Reconciler around the world might be a bit uncertain what exactly a tornado is, because other than in the middle part of the United States, they tend to be a rarity. Europe, Africa, and Asia are not tornado prone. The advent of cell phones has enabled a tremendous amount of great tornado video, which can be seen on the internet.

It almost seems like tornado season keeps getting longer, starts earlier every year, and will eventually be year round. Wouldn't that be great, year round tornados? What if it gets to the point where its a rare day when at least one tornado doesn't go buzzing by overhead? They're starting to happen in late Februrary, and that is alarming, in terms of the evident climate change.

Sunday I was sitting at my computer, minding my own business, while the sky grew darker and darker, and the wind picked up somethin' awful. The phone rang, and my cousin told me there was a tornado heading straight for my town. I absolutely freaked. My mind blazed with panic, and I ran, jumped in my car, and drove as far and fast away from the approaching twister until I found a good shelter; an underground parking garage.

That's how I know I have tornadophobia. I will never forget that feeling of panicking. It was never like that before. But for now on, it may get worse.

Bb

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