Tornado’s path of destruction unpredictable
The recent tornado which skipped across Warren County made it even more real to me to understand that nothing is certain.
We may make big plans for today, tomorrow, or next week, only to have them blown away by a strong wind.
Isn’t it peculiar how some of us fail to recognize God and His power? And that it takes something like a strong wind of a tornado or hurricane to shake us all up. Far too often our faith in God is limited to the trials we may seemingly be going through at a particular time. When everything is going well with us, many of us have the tendency to forget God and what He has done on our behalf.
Some would probably deny ever being fearful, but on April 11, I was frightened. The reports on TV of possible tornadoes passing through the northern part of Warren County and McMinnville struck fear in my personal assistant as well as myself.
My assistant was advised to go into the bathroom for safety. Well my bathroom isn’t really large enough for one person much less two, but we both got in there. As the storm subsided my assistant went home and I sat in the darkness of the late afternoon hours as my electricity had been interrupted. I had a battery-powered radio on, listening to accounts of the damage that occurred in the Bethany area, totally ignorant of how close it came to my house.
But then on Thursday after the tornado I was at the bowling alley when Colleen Eslick came in. Colleen and Jack are almost my neighbors, living on Flood Road, just off Francis Ferry Road just about a half a mile from my place. Colleen asked if I heard of the damage that was done to them by the tornado? I told her I had not.
The only damage I knew about was near the airport. In going to church Sunday, I did see some roofing blown from a barn and some trees down in that general vicinity. Anyway she said they had 48 trees to be blown down by Friday’s tornado. I’ll tell you folks something, that was a little too close for comfort.
Questions have been raised concerning tornadoes in Tennessee. Will Tennessee become the next ‘tornado alley’? Only time will tell. When the subject of tornadoes comes up in my family, the one of April 5, 1936 always comes to mind. It was the day after one of my brother’s was born.
I do not know what damage it did, but according to what I’ve heard, it crossed our house and took with it seven sheets of roofing. Then it hopped across fields and destroyed my great uncle’s barn. I thought it to be most interesting note that some thought one of the reasons for more destructive tornadoes is that whatever course they may take today was open fields, and a lot of times tornadoes may have passed though the area without being noticed. But today these areas are more thickly populated. Thus a tornado passing through these same areas today can result in lots of damage and loss of life.
If this month’s tornado had varied as much as one half mile one way or the other, greater damage may have been seen as it would have gone through more populated areas. This may have resulted in much injury or even the loss of life. The power of God deserves respect.
‘The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language. Where their voice is not heard.’ Psalm 19: 1-3.