Monday, June 20, 2022

Notes from a Trip

 In addition to three silver quarters, two dead bears, and a fox with dinner in its mouth, there were other things that caught my eye. 

Like the Poco Casa restaurant. The sign out front read "Best Pho in Town". 

Huh. 

At a library program held in a local park, a policeman came to talk to the kids. A little girl with big eyes asked the policeman what he does with bad people. He said, "Well, it depends on how bad they are. If they have made a mistake or were just a little bad, I talk to them. Sometimes they are very bad, and I have to take them to jail." The little girl whispered, "I lost a library book..." 

There was the night that I was tucked into a comfortable bed, watching the lightning flash and the thunder rumble. I knew that my grandchildren were asleep under the same roof. A train whistle rang out from across the mountains and it felt perfect, just a perfect, perfect moment. 

There was a very hot day at the park. The kids were fussy and whining, and I could see that Brittani was beginning to wilt. I suggested that we make a stop at a restaurant for lunch. We walked in the door and it was so blessedly cool. My granddaughter held her stuffed cat, 'Black and Brown' (she is going to be a very literal child) and perked up immediately. The whining from both William and her stopped immediately. By the time that drinks were delivered, it had started once again. "I'm chilly. It's too cold." 

Sigh.

That day, a little girl had a nap and she woke up feeling a lot better about life. 

We had a terrible storm while I was gone. It did not hit the town where I live, but it did hit the southern part of our county. It danced across Grand Valley where our retirement property is, touching down here and there,  We lost a tree. Our new tenant lost ALL of his trees. My sister was without power for 24 hours. They finally got it back and within a few hours, another tree fell and took the wires down again. 

It skipped across the bottom of our county and hit Tidioute very badly, bringing down enough trees to make the roads impassible. Four days later, most of the town was still without power. Based on the trail of damage, people think it was another tornado although we have had no official confirmation of this. 



20 comments:

  1. Hope no one was hurt. Glad it missed your place.

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    1. I think wind is the one thing that scares me, weather-wise. It just seems so very random, rushing along, hitting there, missing over here...

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  2. Makes our weather here in UK puny by comparison.

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  3. Tornadoes are terrifying. We have weather storms that I call Mother Nature swirlies, when a storm cell just gets stuck over top us. But tornado seems like a Mother Nature swirlies on steroids. Glad that it missed you.

    So, a Mexican restuarant with the best Pho in town?

    Heat is awful when you can't cool off. I know it's hot out when I go to the grocery store and enjoy the frozen food section, even want to bring a lawnchair and just sit there. I wonder what the manager would do?

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    1. Isn't that the strangest thing? It was not time for lunch, but let me tell you, a big part of me wanted to turn the car around, go back, and eat there just to check it out.

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  4. That first sentence has the makings of a great joke!

    Since I got started way late in life, I hope that I get my perfect moment someday while sleeping in one of my children's house with my grandkids. I do love listening to summer thunderstorms approaching.

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    1. It can be sung: 3 silver quarters, two dead bears, and a paaaaartridge in a pear...er...a foooooooox with dinner in its mouth.

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  5. A journalist's eye captures the moments!

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    1. What my journalist's eye missed, my heart caught.

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  6. Welcome back! I find it is far better to enjoy a thunderstorm in a tight house or from afar. There is no finding joy in one that causes a lot of damage - I would prefer to think that any tornado footage is done in a studio (hey, if the flat-earthers can do it, so can I). I drove through a supercell once - I don't recommend.

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    1. I like how you think. I am going to think like that too.

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  7. P can be such a useful letter.
    The policeman sounds very diplomatic.
    Just more and severe weather events are happening.

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  8. What delightful and devilish adventures. As an Okie-Kansan, I've seen the results of tornados and "swirlies." I shouldn't have, but laughed, as I've never heard of power lines being fixed, then being knocked down again. Time to break out the wine for that event! Linda in Kansas

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    1. My sister can only guess that the second tree that fell was damaged in the storm.

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  9. There's a good thunder storm and sheer terror. I hope things get fixed quickly.

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  10. That storm didn’t hit us too badly. We didn’t lose power this time. All of the new poles held. Thank goodness.

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    1. You guys got it bad the last time a storm went through your neck of the woods. I have to say that the memory of the picture of your roofer silhouetted against the sky still makes me laugh.

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