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| After the Storm 5x7 Acrylic on Board |
"Spring Forward" and all that, right? And spring has just made its typical flamboyant entry into Oklahoma's weather patterns.
Spring here means storms, and thunderstorms are common. You know what's common with Oklahoma thunderstorms? Baseball-sized hail and tornadoes! Yes, spinning winds in excess of 200 MPH, as Mother Nature starts PMSing to beat the band.
So there I was, in the middle of taking apart my Bug Out Bag to bring it up to date for the new season, and what do I hear? I hear tornado sirens going off from several directions. With my BOB in shambles, and gear spread all over the place, and both dogs going crazy because of the sirens.
It's amazing how rapidly you can throw a BOB back together again when the sirens go off and tell you to duck and cover!
Fortunately the tornado warning was called off fairly soon, and I didn't need my BOB. We've also been lucky enough to befriend our next door neighbors, who happen to have a storm cellar in their back yard. It's only 100 feet from our back door, and we are invited to take shelter in it should we see a funnel on the ground and headed our direction.
Of course, the rule of thumb with a tornado is that if you can see it on the ground, you probably don't have enough time left to seek shelter - which is why we pay attention to the sirens when they go off!
Its no joke, folks. Don't put off seasonal changes to your bag. Don't put off making sure batteries are in good shape, all your necessary medications and such are easy to grab or already in there, all your paperwork is backed up and secured inside. Don't wait until you're in the teeth of a storm to remember that you need to throw a few things together.
Because if you wait until you're most likely to need it - you probably won't have time to actually get it done.
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