A Real Frog-Strangler

A Real Frog-Strangler

         Dan walked out into his front yard. He felt the cool wind lash at his face and was aware that his next-door neighbor, Bob Johson, was also standing in his front yard. He and Bob were just two of a massive society of people who were bona-fide “cloud-watchers.”

         ”Well, Bob, what’dya think?” Dan called to his neighbor. Dan turned his eyes toward the lowered cloud ceiling that was in constant movement above him.

         ”Don’t know Dan.” Bob shook his head as he also directed his gaze up to the boiling clouds.

         “I know what you mean, Bob.” Dan studied the sky as he talked to his neighbor. “It always bothers me when they start churning like that. As long as they keep moving in one direction, I’m not too worried. But this worries me.”

         Bob Johnson didn’t have to say anything. They had both seen enough storms roll through central Oklahoma to be in agreement. It was about six o’clock and it had been a warm day. The cool front had collided with the warm day and had spawned instant storms along the front. The evening was always the worst. Dan walked back to the house.

         “Where’s Noel?” Dan asked his wife, Linda. She saw the concern on his face.

         “He rode his bike over to Jerry’s after lunch. They were going to play with his new “Hot-Wheels” set and then he was going to come home just before dinner. He promised that he would be home before dark.”

         “Well, it’s dark. This storm has shortened the day. I want you to call Jerry’s and tell them to get him ready to come home. I’m going to drive over there and pick him up. Tell him that he can leave his bike there and we will pick it up tomorrow. Right now, I want him home.”

         There was no need to respond. Linda turned and walked toward the telephone. Dan’s concern was contagious for now she also was concerned. Dan walked out of the house and made his way to the car. The wind had picked up was was blowing briskly. He felt the spatter of scattered drops of rain on his cheek and saw the spots magically appear on his driveway.

         ”Take your time,” he thought. ”You’ve seen these storms blow up a thousand times and you haven’t been blown away yet.” He reminded himself that this was a normal part of life in Oklahoma and there was no need to get worked-up over it. He reminded himself; but as usual it didn’t much work.

         He maneuvered the car into the street and headed in the direction of Jerry’s house. It was just three blocks away.

         “Noel could probably get home almost as fast on his bike,” he thought.

         However, Dan knew that Noel didn’t do anything fast when he was playing. No, he would feel much better when he had his little boy sitting in the seat next to him.

         The rain dropped from the sky with alarming suddenness. Dan turned his windshield wipers up to fast mode and pulled into Jerry’s driveway. He saw Noel standing in the doorway waiting for him. That was good. Dan leaned over and unfastened the door as Noel ran through the downpour to the car. Jumping into the seat next to him, Dan saw the perpetual smile that was always on Noel’s face.

         ”I guess this is a ‘frog-strangler’, ain’t it Dad?” Noel looked at his dad and grinned.

         Dan couldn't help himself. He laughed and replied, “Yeah, I guess it is.”

         At home, Linda rushed through the house shutting the windows, which had been open during the pleasant day prior to the sudden storm. Her youngest son, Chad sat in his bedroom floor playing with his Tonka trucks, oblivious to the change in weather. After Dan had left and she had called Jerry’s, she turned the TV on to Channel 5 to listen to any weather reports. She had just closed the last window when she heard the ominous beeping sound of a weather warning.

         We interrupt your normally scheduled programming to bring you this urgent weather advisory. A funnel cloud was spotted, at 5:45 PM, five miles south of Marlow in Stephens County. This storm is moving at about 40 mph. Folks in Garvin County and the vicinity of Lindsay and later Purcell should take immediate precautions. Again, this is a confirmed funnel cloud traveling in the direction of Lindsay and Purcell. Please take immediate precautions.”

         Immediately Linda’s mind performed the calculations -- “40 mph … 5:45 PM … Marlow … moving northeast …Geez! That thing is almost on us!”

         She looked at her watch, “They ought to be getting back soon. I wish Dan and Noel were here. What do I do if it gets bad?” Her mind raced. She sat on the bed in Chad’s room as he continued to play with his trucks. However, she was startled from her concentration with the sudden onset of a loud shrill whine that filled the room.

         ”The sirens – Oh my God! They’re sounding the sirens!”

         She rose from the bed and grabbed Chad from off the floor and quickly headed for the bathroom. The family had long ago decided that the bathtub was the most secure place for such an event. Linda climbed into the tub and pulled Chad in between her and the wall of the bathroom. The noise was now deafening. Sirens were wailing; Chad was crying; and the noise of a freight-train was all around them.

         She closed her eyes and held her child as close to her as she could. She felt the house shudder. Debris struck her in the back. All of a sudden she was wet.

         “Did I accidentally turn the shower on?” she thought.

         She felt for the shower handle and discovered that it was in the off position. She looked up. In her amazement she saw clouds and felt the rain pelt upon her face.

         “There’s supposed to be a roof there,” she reasoned to herself.

         When the sirens went off, Dan was just one block from home. “Too late to stop now,” he thought. “We’re almost home. We can run inside the house and get in the central bathroom in just a moment.”

         “Dad! What’s happening?” Noel called out to his dad.

         They felt the sensation at the same time. The car ceased to be controlled by the driver. It was lifted off of the roadway, like some carnival ride. The rear of the car swung around in a silent fish-tail just inches off of the pavement – but off of the pavement just the same. They saw their house just as the roof exploded off of the structure. Debris instantly covered their window and they felt the car jar to a sudden stop. Dan had stopped driving. In fact he turned the car off as soon as he lost control of the car. The car was jostled about for a moment and then became totally still. The rain and the siren both challenged their senses and confirmed that they were still there.

         Dan bolted from the car with Noel close on his heels. He plunged through the open front door and called, “Linda! Linda!”

         “In here!”

         Dan met Linda at the bathroom door and they threw their arms around each other. Linda was in tears. Dan's tears were concealed by his rain soaked face. He reached out into the void behind Linda and felt for Chad, who grabbed his dad’s hand and was pulled into the embrace. Linda in turn reached out for Noel and enfolded him into the family circle. The four of them stood there holding each other, crying, shaking, and giving thanks that they were together.

         The next morning dawned in vivid contrast to the previous evening. There was not a cloud in the sky. The morning smelled amazingly fresh. They had spent the night in the last available room of the Motel-6 in the neighboring town of Pauls Valley. Linda had cried softly before she eventually went to sleep. The boys had slept fitfully, jerking and whimpering in their sleep. Dan hadn't slept at all.

         After breakfast at McDonald's the family made their way to inspect the damage inflicted on their home. As they neared their street they were stopped at a roadblock manned by Oklahoma National Guardsmen.

         “Do you have business in here, sir?” The guardsman asked.

         “We live here. We need to get in to inspect the damage to our home. Here’s my drivers license with my address.”

         “Yes sir, I appreciate that sir. You may proceed.”

         It was apparent to all of them that it was not going to be a typical day. Dan continued down the street. As he neared Jerry’s house, Noel sat up straight in the seat and pointed excitedly. “There’s Jerry’s house--or at least where Jerry’s house used to be!”

         Sure enough, Jerry’s house was only a slab. The house was gone. Dan saw Jerry with his mom and dad sitting on the edge of the storm cellar that was the only remaining feature in their yard. He did not stop. He didn’t know what to say; and besides, his home had fared little better. They drove on.

         As they approached their house in the morning daylight, they were all shocked to see the extent of the destruction. The house on their left, Bob's house, was completely destroyed. The house on their right was untouched. The roof on their house was totally gone. The back wall of the house had collapsed outward into the back yard. Curtains and window treatments fluttered through holes where windows had been blown out. In the yard, debris littered the usually well kept lawn. Somebody’s camper shell lay twisted and bent around the tree in the front yard. Linda began to quietly weep. The boys simply stared.

         The family walked through the shell of a house that had once been their home. They were both saddened and amazed. They were saddened because nature had violated their sanctuary. Their security and comfort had been taken from them. They, in a sense, had lost their innocence. No longer could they trust that the things they held to be permanent were safe and off limits to the outside world.

         They were amazed by the oddities that they witnessed. The one room that still had a ceiling protecting it was the dining room where the baby grand piano was sitting. The room was virtually untouched. Pictures of family sat undisturbed on the piano. Beside the piano lay a tool chest, missing from some mechanics garage somewhere else in town.

         Dan had erected a children’s swing set in the back yard. To secure the swing to the ground he had anchored it with rebar driven into the earth. The twister had pulled three legs of the swing set from the ground and left the fourth securely anchored. However, it had maliciously wrapped the remaining legs, swings, and slide around the anchored leg and left a surreal metal sculpture in the back yard.

         Paint cans, which were stored in the garage, were opened during the storm and sprayed around the walls of the garage, mixing blue and green and red paint in a mural of modern art. Amazingly, Linda’s car, which was still parked in the garage, did not have a drop of the paint on it. The family wandered about the property speaking little; coping with what had happened; and registering the reality of the aftermath.

         Dan smiled and fixed his gaze on a solitary object. In the midst of all the rubble, there laying in his front yard was Noel’s bike—unharmed. It lay on its side as if Noel had just dropped it there to come in for diner.

         "I guess we wont have to go pick up Noel's bike," he mused to himself.

He looked around him. Through the vacant window he saw his wife busy going through articles in the closet, assessing what her family will be wearing in the near future; he saw Noel standing in awe by his twisted swing-set; Chad was playing in the mud with his Tonka trucks; and there was that bicycle laying right where it ought to be. It was then that he determined that he had really lost very little. It was then that he realized that the greatest treasures that God had given him were still with him. He walked over and stood beside Noel. He reached over and placed his hand on his son’s shoulder.

         Noel looked up at his dad; he smiled and said, “That was some storm, huh Dad?”

         Dan smiled again, “Yeah, that was really some storm – a real ‘frog-strangler.’”