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Storm Fiasco

I started back to school this week. I have class on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. It is here in McKinney instead of Frisco where I usually teach. I have a really small class of only 12 students and many of them I had last semester and they followed me over to McKinney for the "second half" of government.

Tonight as I headed out to class, the radar was looking ominous. There were storms moving in from the west and there were tons of little spinning circles along the line of storms (you know those little thingies that are suppose to indicate rotation in the clouds). I was so worried about leaving Lola. I don't know how many directions she can actually follow (I do recognize that she is a dog after all- even though I rarely treat her like she is ONLY A DOG), but I took her into the hallway and instructed her that if she hears sirens, she needed to come into the hallway. Don't make fun of me people, she was sitting very still and listening and looked at me like she understood.

I was being the lazy professor tonight and planned to lecture for 10 minutes, show two episodes of "The West Wing" and then wrap up class by identifying the issues we saw in the show compared to what we learned in the chapter we covered on Monday. I turned on the computer so that I could watch the radar and noticed that Dallas News was reporting we were under a Tornado Warning...no, not a watch, but a full on WARNING. I ignore it however, because I hadn't heard sirens and I'd been told that security would come get us out of class in a weather emergency. Anyhow, about 5-10 minutes into the first episode of "The West Wing", I hear the siren. We sit there for a bit and then chaos ensues and people come get us and make us head downstairs to a hallway.

Now, let me first tell you about the hallway. It was down where there are racquetball courts. You know what that meant? That one entire wall of the hallway was glass. Hello? Anyone ever heard that you should not be near glass in a tornado? It was crazy crowded down there, so I found a little niche and huddled up in there with some of my students. I was very near a dance classroom that didn't appear to have windows. They wouldn't let us go in there, but that was my plan if I heard that old train coming!

The second issue that I want to tell you about is that one of my students was basically attached to my side. She was on the phone with her Mom and said "yeah, I think I'll be okay, I'm sitting right next to my professor, so I think I'll be okay.". So of course, when she hung up, I'm like "Um, do I look tornado proof or something? How does being near me make you feel okay?". Odd to have that effect on people!

Thirdly, everyone was getting call after call on their cell phone. People's friends, parents, significant others, etc., all just checking to make sure everything was okay. You know how many calls I got? Zip. Zero. Zilch, Nada. Not a freaking one! You people don't give a rat's ass about me! Okay, well, I will excuse those of you who don't know my phone number. And alright, those of you who don't live here in the area to know we were under a Tornado Warning. But the rest of ya', your name is mud... you're dead to me.

Just kidding.

Really the whole darn time I wasn't a bit concerned for myself, but was worried sick about Lo and hoping that she was huddled in the hallway and wasn't scared.

Whenever I finally did make it home tonight, Lola had quite the story to tell. Of course, I don't understand her, but one thing you have to know about Lola, she is a talker. She doesn't bark, she talks. You'd have to hear her to get it, but trust me, even my Dad admits that she "talks". I asked her if she was scared and if the storms were loud and if she took cover and she told me all about it. I will say that she did look toward the hallway several times during her "story telling".

I bet Lola would have called me if she had opposable thumbs and could work the phone.

Comments

Abby said…
I had no idea! I hate tornado's the scare the begizzes out of me. I also worry tons about Bailey. Makes me nervous like crazy!

Your 19ish something student was happy to be sitting next to you because you are her professor...that likens you to a parent and by that I mean that she thinks your old...thus responsible...thus safe. Sorry to break the news friend.
Caroline said…
Scary. I hate tornados. I'm a total wimp about them and head to the closet if anything begins to look ominous.

Glad everything turned out well. Send me your phone number and I'll call and check on you. I'm a checker by nature- I do it to everyone.
Traci said…
Sorry to laugh while you are huddled next to your students fearing for your life, but that post was funny! How hilarious that Lola was listening to you then telling you about it later!! Ha!!
Suzanna Cooper said…
I would have called...but I was making sure we didn't have to get in the bathtub down here. I did think about you, though! :0)

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