Tornados, Happy Mother's Day

[impqueen]

Well, it's almost sunny here in southern Missouri now.

Last night, though, we got some tornados. Some BIG tornados - about 17 of them, by this morning's count.

Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland will probably not make it to Calvary Baptist for Mother's Day services this morning, since a fair chunk of his jurisdiction is flattened. Ken's a really good man. He's dealt with too much the last year or so.

Talking Jesus and I live an hour away now. We got straight line winds and a little power outage. But TJ's hometown of Seneca got hit hard. My parents live in Newton County, and they got hit - not as hard as lot of places, but my mother said it looked like someone had smashed bags of ice everywhere.

The house TJ's family lived in from the time he was twelve is gone. He proposed to me in that house. We raised Elder Spawn in that house for several years. It's a half mile from the Spook Light in Seneca, and it's gone. Our old neighbors' houses, gone. TJ's high school girlfriend's parents are now homeless. TJ's grandmother's home is heavily damaged - I'm glad she agreed to move into assisted living last year. His best friend is okay - he's out helping, to see if there's anyone still trapped. Some people have been dug out from the rubble of their houses overnight and this morning.

So I won't be writing up much, if anything, for the front page today. Last we heard from Ken Copeland, he had ten dead in his county. News reports now say there may be more, and over 100 hurt in a swath tornados cut between Picher, Oklahoma and us.

We were lucky last night, our parents and children are safe. A lot of our friends weren't.

I am so moving to the Carolinas.

Happy Mother's Day!

[~Absynthe~]

Many prayers your way Imp..I come from a town of about 8000. Back in 1973 we was hit by a tornado and it totally devestated our town. It is very scary to live through and the after effects. I still live in tornado alley and everytime the warning sirens go off, I am as jumpy and jittery as if it was that day in 1973.

[Rotten Apple]

I'm glad everyone is ok.

Well, except for the 10 dead people.

But if it takes some hellacious storms to get your asses to the Carolinas...so be it. :p

Happy Mother's Day!

[impqueen]

That's 14 dead people now in Newton County alone. 20ish total. Bodies keep turning up, it appears.

But hell yes, I am ready to move. And also, i want a Snickers bar. Sheez, i'm shallow.

Happy Mother's Day to you too!

I sent my mom a card that says "Thanks for not ditching me in a dumpster." :D

[carol13]

Glad you and your family are ok, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of life, and the special places that have been lost too. Moving would sound really appealing to me too if I were you. Take care imp.

[Dark Star]

It's the second Sunday in May, which is Mother's Day here in the United States. It's Mother's Day in other countries, too, including Denmark, Italy, Venezuela, Turkey, Australia, and Japan. It's the biggest day of the year for long-distance telephone calls.

A woman named Anna Jarvis was the person behind the official establishment of Mother's Day. Her mother, Anna Reeves Jarvis, had a similar idea, and in 1905 the daughter swore at her mother's grave to dedicate her life to the project. She campaigned tirelessly for the holiday. In 1907, she passed out 500 white carnations at her mother's church, St. Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia — one for each mother in the congregation. In 1912, West Virginia became the first state to adopt an official Mother's Day, and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson made it a national holiday.

Anna Jarvis became increasingly concerned over the commercialization of Mother's Day. She said, "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit." She was against the selling of flowers, and she called greeting cards "a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write." Nevertheless, Mother's Day has become one of the best days of the year for florists. When Anna Jarvis lived the last years of her life in nursing home without a penny to her name, her bills were paid, unbeknownst to her, by the Florist's Exchange.

In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde wrote: "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his."


http://tinyurl.com/495p9

[crimenthusiast]

Imp - so sorry to hear about the terrible storms that came through you're way. At times I am glad I live in the big city.


Hippie - thank's for the informative info on Mother's Day.

[lisaznola]

I am so sorry that your day started so rough.
I hope that someone was nice enough to get you that candy bar!
Happy Mother's Day to you, Imp, and to all the Mom's here!

[Becca]

I know I'm a day late, but Happy Mother's Day Imp and all other mothers here, and am so sorry to hear about all the destruction your way.

I'll be happy to start scoping out houses in my area for ya

[swivel]

That's 14 dead people now in Newton County alone. 20ish total. Bodies keep turning up, it appears.

That cinches it. Either there is no god, or his aim is awful.

[impqueen]

That cinches it. Either there is no god, or his aim is awful.

Oh, I dunno.

Newton County is where the Rowan Ford murder went down, y'know. So maybe that aim wasn't too far off.

Then again, He missed me by several miles.

[Lizard]

He was busy in China.

[Ruby]

Just catching this thread. Glad you and yours are whole, Imp. Seems like Newton has had its share of for-shit luck in the past year. It does make me wonder just a bit what y'all been doing down there to piss the universe off so. :-(

Hope you found a truckload of snickers bars, and high-tail your ass out of that area soon! Why does anyone choose to live in tornado alley or on a fault line? Never did understand it.