Friday, December 2, 2011

A Tree Almost Hit The Scribe; Utah Under Attack

    Check my tabs for my newly released book and the iPad2 giveaway.

    For two nights, the weather has been terrible.  Winds rose up.  It was even worse than the time I went outside and watched our tree almost fly away.
    Here's that post if you're interested (it's still one of my top three most popular posts):  We Pulled the Plug 

    Anyway, forty-two schools are currently closed in this area.  50,000 residents without power (including my brother's and sister's families).  Utah sustained damages I didn't think were possible for this area--over 8 million dollars in Centerville alone.
    Yesterday morning, I woke with a start because our house shook in 100 mph winds.  
    I watched the news and gasped! I opened our front door and the wreath, holder and nail ripped from the door and flew away.  
    A huge garbage can slammed across the street and tumbled into my yard.
    Then, what terrified me the most, was when a bunch of dogs ran down the street.

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    "Oh my gosh!" I screamed.  (Sorry to keep talking about movies in posts but . . .)  It reminded me of apocalypse movies.  Animals sense bad things first.  Maybe the end was nigh--AND it wasn't even 2012 yet!  
    I struggled shutting the door, then just stood there on the porch.  The winds whipped around me and a dog broke free of the pack.  It was my neighbor's dog, Sox.
    I ended up putting her back in their yard, despite flying garbage and winds that threatened to take my skinny body to Oz.
    And through all of that, I was shocked to find out the Davis School District hadn't canceled school for my girls.
    I took them after that because if my mother taught me one thing, it's that you go to school and get an education--even if you think the world is ending!  I was a bit worried though, so I went to check on them later in the day, around eleven.  Many of the classrooms were without lights.  The heater wasn't working.  I watched as one class huddled closer to the window, talking in the scant light it shed.
    But my girls--those warriors--insisted on staying at school.  I didn't realize until later what a scary day it had been.
    The school day ended and I picked my girls up.  The Scribe smiled with madness only a tomboy can know.  "I almost got hit by a tree!"
    She sounded ecstatic--WHY was that a good thing?
    "What?!" I barked, choking on my coffee.
    "Yeah," the Hippie jumped into the conversation, "and there's no school tomorrow because the school doesn't have any more electricity--isn't that awesome?" 
    "Wow," I said, "but back to the tree."  I tried remaining clam. "You were going to tell me the delightful story of HOW IT ALMOST HIT YOU?!"
    "Well . . ." The Scribe smiled, her hair bushy and her blue eyes sparkling.  "I was walking the track with Angel, and a tree just floated across the track--like it was a ghost.  I thought it was epic, so I just smiled at it, but Angel stood there screaming.  Then a teacher ran from the school and he was just as terrified as Angel.  He screamed too and so some of the other kids started staring at the tree and screaming with him.  Like this: 'Ahhhhh!' . . . 'AHHHHH!' Why would a teacher just scream?  
    "I kept thinking we should run, but it was so cool.  It wasn't special effects or anything!  Then the guy stopped freaking out like a girl and he yelled, 'Get in the school now!  Get in there NOW!' 
    "So we did, even if everything was really dark.  But it was exciting when everyone wasn't freaking out."  
    "It was crazy." The Hippie turned to me. "I wasn't scared either, though.  I was just cold and it's hard reading in the dark.  Anyway, how about you, Mom?  Did you see any ghost trees today?"

    So, that was our day yesterday.  We're all staying home today and I'm hoping to get some editing, writing and proofreading done.  I need to work on a scary scene, though--I bet I could write about writhing winds and ghosts today! 
    In closing, I'd like to ask you the same thing the Hippie asked me.  How was your day yesterday?  Did you see any ghost trees--I've heard they're all the rage . . .

26 comments:

  1. Mentioning movies in every post doesn't bother me..haha Nice and sunny here with lots of power, no ghost trees or anything of the like. I did just see a tree move though, think the ghost-ness is catching?..haha

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  2. Wow. That's crazy winds, yeah!?! Stay safe! I, unfortunately, didn't see any ghost trees yesterday. :( Your life is much more exciting than mine.

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  3. I saw some WHITE trees, but no ghost trees that I know of. I think the high pressure we are having here in the Pacific Northwest is responsible for all the winds you guys are having. Sorry! I didn't do it! :-)

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  4. The Scribe is right, nearly being hit by a tree is brilliant. It becomes less so if the tree actually hits you.

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  5. i love that education is still the priority and then you can get blown away to oz.

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  6. What a day! Calypso tore another package up given to her by the nice Fedex man who will get chewed out later. Sounds like the hurricanes we've experienced here in Southern Louisiana. I wrote a short story on Hurricane Gustave. Here's the link. Weather can be eerie. Donna

    http://mylife-in-stories.blogspot.com/2011/01/hurricane-gustave.html

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  7. I'm concerned that they were out on the track in 100-mph winds!

    Nothing happened yesterday. Nothing at all. It was nice for a change.

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  8. Wow! It sounds like you have been having some scary and terrible weather! So glad the Scribe wasn't hit by the tree or any other flying objects. Maybe it was better that she remained so calm in the situation. Myabe if she freaked out she would have been hurt. I can only imagine how scary it was for you to hear about her day! Hope you have less wind today and that there aren't any more ghost trees whipping by! My day was quite stressful yesterday- but now that I have heard about your day- it doesn't seem so bad. :)

    ~Jess
    http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com

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  9. Dear Elisa,
    The national news last night--NBC--showed photographs of damage done in California and said that the Santa Ana winds were causing this and that several states were affected. Utah must be one of them.

    I had a great day yesterday. No ghost trees, but a squirrel who came and nibbled sunflower seeds from the empty bird bath, providing great entertainment for the three cats with whom I live!

    Peace.

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  10. Does sound like a very cinematic experience. America does have some highly extreme weather.

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  11. Whoa, shades of "Day of the Triffids".

    Very glad to hear it was just an 'almost'

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  12. I'm in Southern California so we've had our share of the winds, too--but fortunately nothing like THAT!

    Just thinking--if it WERE a movie, you could just tell the crew to turn off the wind machines. And those flying ghost trees would probably have been made of papier mache!

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  13. There are times I miss northern Alabama where I grew up; one of the notches in the tornado belt. After reading your post, I realize this is not one of those times. High winds wafting trees in gossamer flight over your child's track ... actually, that is pretty cool, but like Tony said, much less so if the tree actually hits you. I don't know why it didn't dawn on me that Utah is in the tornado belt, but there you are. Smile. Glad to hear that you and yours are safe. Get the kids dive boots for P.E., you should be fine.

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  14. We've had lots of wind here in northern CA, but kept our lights on. As a teacher, losing power during the school day is the WORST! The kids get all amped up but we still have to teach! Hope your day today was very dull :)

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  15. I had a lovely day yesterday. Walked the dogs. Cleaned house a bit. Even took a shower. No trees flying here. I hope you're in the clear.

    Love,
    Lola

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  16. That wind storm was ridonculus! What the heck was that? I took Meg to school and heard on the radio it actually knocked a Semi over. Entire trash bags were floating by my car. Weirdo stuff. Glad the Scribe didn't get hit by a tree though. That would have sucked.

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  17. Omg, the dogs running down the street would've FREAKED me out. I can't. lol

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  18. Thanks for stopping by my blog to read Hurricane Gustave. It was actually published last year. I'm a little proud and had to boast. (Sorry.) Donna

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  19. Ahh...I've been too long away from here. (Takes a great big sip of awesome) There. All better.

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  20. Nope. No ghost trees. Just alot of undead people roaming the malls looking for that "perfect" gift.

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  21. 100 mph winds?!?! And to think I thought I was going to college in the REAL windy city the past 6 years with up to 30 mph winds nearly every day! Glad no one was hurt where you're at.

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  22. Wow! That seems odd they would have school with such a storm. I live on the coast and we have wind storms. I love to hear the wind howl but not loose power. I am glad everyone is ok. Sounds like quite a storm. Rita Spratlen rjspratlen@gmail.com

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  23. So you had those winds there too. They were crazy here in the Los Angeles area. It's kind of weird though--just a few miles up the road from where I am they had huge winds with trees toppled and power outages and here where I live there was hardly a breeze. Oh, there was a brief period of windiness, but not damage. I guess I should feel blessed.

    Lee
    Wrote By Rote

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  24. How frightening! Sorry to just be catching up now. I've had a bit of a cold since Thursday night. Glad everyone is safe.

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  25. I love the nicknames with which you've anointed your contributions to the new generation :) and I empathize with your terror once removed...

    Terror aside, the movie the Scribe's "ghost tree" (how poetic) brought to mind was the '96 tornado classic "Twister" with its floating cows and houses and oil trucks, oh my...!

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