The day started out as any other Sunday would. Kinnick awoke around 7:30 and thoughts of dog related torture flew through my brain. I kept thinking "If I lay here and don't move, he won't notice me". Not so much. We were moving and shaking 5 minutes later. The day progressed as normal...watched a movie, ran some errands, debated on whether to cook dinner or utilize the oh-so-tempting Papa Murphy's coupon (http://www.papamurphys.com/) that was sitting on the counter....
It was at that exact moment that Brandon happened to notice the sky getting darker....and then we heard the Tornado Sirens and we knew something was coming. As we flipped on Ch. 8 - we were quickly informed that this storm would be in our neighborhood in about 8 minutes. So, we did what every Iowan does...we went outside. Everyone knows that when you hear the tornado sirens, it's just a clue that you need to get on your "Storm Watching Goggles" and go sit on your front porch. Call us crazy....but as we embarked outside we stopped to chat with our neighbor Matt - who said "screw the goggles" and just went on about his business of seeding his lawn.
It only took about two minutes before the goggles came off and we got our butts inside and downstairs. Well...we took a small detour upstairs and then decided when a Hubbell Homes sign went flying by our home that this wasn't the average Summer Storm and we headed downstairs.
Now...this is when the fun began because not just 4 minutes earlier had our power went off. Well, it took all 4 of those minutes for the water to just start pouring into our basement. I thought we were going to have to build an ark for Kinnick and call it a day. Needless to say...we panicked a little but after a bit of collaborative communication...I call it collaborative communication, some might call it yelling/screaming. Anyhow, after our little pow-wow we got everything moved quickly and started controlling the small river we had forming in the basement.
It wasn't but 15 minutes later that we thought we better arise out of the trenches and see what else happened to the outside of our home. As we walked outside....it was craziness. Our neighbors who live directly behind us (Andy and Billie) had a 2x6 fly through their roof, causing a sizable hole which was now full of the rain left behind from the storm. The water was pooling in their spare bedroom and making its way through the ceiling, into their kitchen. The lady next to them had a 2x6 fly through her living room, and unfortunately the size of the hole was too big to repair before the next round of storms hit. Another house two properties down, had 1/2 of it's roof torn off (hence the 2x6's flying through the air).
It was absolutely amazing the way that everyone in our neighborhood came together to help everyone who had massive damage. It was like people were crawling out of the woodwork. Matt and his dad Denny quickly helped Andy repair the hole in his roof.
**SIDE NOTE: Now, I must add that Matt acts in mysterious ways - I'm beginning to believe he has kits in his garage that are labeled for such emergencies (Storms, Tornadoes, Iowa Hawkeye defeat...etc.) as I've never witnessed someone who had exactly everything that was needed for this type of predicament and was able to retrieve it so gracefully. If I didn't know better - I would've sworn he kept extra roof shingles in his boxers for occassions just like these.....
With the help of everyone - the neighbors greatly affected by the 1st storm were able to repair enough of the damage needed to withold the next round of storms which came about 35 minutes after the first. Luckily - these weren't nearly as bad.
It was heart-breaking to see our friends/neighbors be forced with the damage that occured to their homes but most importantly no one was hurt. If anything, it was amazing to see the support, help and care administered by our neighborhood in this time of need. Situations like these help to refresh the sense of pride I have in being an Iowan.
When the day was done and I looked around - there is still a lot of work to be done around here. But we'll get there.
And, during the middle of all of this drama - I must say that I glanced around for some ruby-red slippers or some dumb witch under the debris -because we surely weren't in Kansas...anymore.
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