It was a harrowing night!

August 13, 2007

It was one of those summer days that one can not forget.  I awoke early in the morning as I was so so used to doing the paper route that had ended just a month past.  The clock showed 4:30 AM and I did not want to get up but as I tossed and turned I finally decided sleep was out of the question.  I tiptoed down the stairs and quietly opened the front door to see if the paper had arrived.  It had so I ventured out into the yard to get it and as I walked out into the night it felt like the air wanted to surround me and hold on tight.  In the kitchen as I took the paper out of the plastic bag I thought this day feels like a storm.  After my FP with heavy cream was ready I settled down to read the sports section with the idea that I would catch up on e-mails later.  

With an omelet downed and the FP history I suddenly decided that I needed to get out and about for some exercise so I hopped on the bike and headed towards the river as the sun begin to bring light to the day.  Oh my the dark morning had seemed heavy but now it seemed even more so as I headed towards the Lake Street bridge which I would cross and come back home on the Minneapolis side.  By the time I arrived home, about 6 miles later, I was soaked with sweat and as I looked towards the east where the sun was supposed to be bright and shinning all I could see was a dark cloud which made the morning seem almost like dusk.

I did not accomplish much that day.  We turned on the window AC early in the day and I spent some time in my wood shop but really it was too hot and humid to do much.  We watched the weather and it said that storms were a good possibility so we should keep an eye on the weather.  In western Minnesota there had been a few tornadoes but they did not touch down.  

Darkness came with no relief from the salty humid weather.  About 10:00 PM I was sitting on the couch which was against the north living room wall when suddenly there was a loud crash and something brushed against the window behind the couch.  I quickly opened the shutters and there were leaves and branches against the glass.  I could not see much through the window but my thought was a branch must have broken off from the maple tree in our front yard and brushed up against the house.  Little did I know at the time that the entire Maple tree had crashed down.

A minute or so later the phone rang.  Judy and Mark lived next door, to the east.  Mark had been having serious health problems so Judy was in charge of the home and yard.  Well I am guessing that Judy had been in charge (in a good way) of most things in the family for some time.  Anyway her voice was quivering and there was panic in her voice.  She asked if I could come over as the tree had fallen against their house and they now had water coming in from the second floor.  She said they could not get out their front door as it was blocked with a tree.  I hurried out and in the pouring rain and darkness I could see the situation was not a good one.  I went in the back door and hurried up the stairs to see what had happened.  Before I did that I told Judy to call 911.  When I got up stairs I found a large branch in one bedroom with water pouring in through the hole.  It seemed only a few minutes until the fire truck came.  The first thing they did was to shut off the electric power as they wanted to prevent a fire.  The firemen helped Judi calm down a bit and then she was able to call a friend so that they could leave the house for the night.  Luckily the rain did not last too long but there was water damage on both floors.  

Judy was at the house bright and early the next day and she certainly did a wonderful job of getting things to happen.  The tree clean up, the house fix up and ALL the details that had to be taken care of lasted well into the fall.  As for our car we got somewhere in the $2000 range for a damaged roof top!  

It was a night to remember and and night to be thankful for everyone's safety.  

I got lazy for breakfast and perhaps a bit unconventional as I cut up pieces of ham and mixed them up in a dish of Terry's delicious scalloped potatoes which she made a few days ago.  Well I would say potatoes and ham are fine for breakfast, right??  Now it is a bike ride and then tennis at 10:30 today.  I am wondering if our pool will be warm enough for a swim later.  I turned the heater on this morning as it is supposed to get up to 83 today.  The pool goes on about 9:30 and stays on until about 4:30.  Not sure how much it will heat up today as this morning the temp is at 68.  I know, 65 years ago that temp would be fine but NO MORE!

My FP, with heavy cream from costco, is at the end so will dress and get on that bike.