Some might say I was crazy as I headed out with camera phone in hand to the sound of tornado warning sirens, but those people don't know what it's like to be trapped in a basement with eight people. Only three of them are over the age of 13. The rest of them are aged 2 to 13. The threat of a tornado seemed tame in comparison.
As children panicked and drove their mother to madness, I was determined to get some photos worthy of online publishing. I wasn't alone. Our block of Strathmoor Village was still pretty light and void of storm signs as Churchill Downs was getting plowed by a touchdown.
The sirens started at about 7 p.m. We waited anxiously as Facebook and twitter updates started to flood in with reports of possible touchdowns and funnels near the South End and near Newburg Road and I-264, which is pretty close to us. From our viewpoint, the danger really seemed to be moving in from the northern highlands. Neighbors were out gawking at the looming darkness moving towards us from the northern part of the highlands.
"See that?" asked Stephen Lutz. "It's pretty nasty. Where it's green, it's really bad."
All of the other other neighbors seemed pretty calm, and this actually seemed to be the first time they'd met despite living next to each other for several years. Moving towards us was a wall of blackness, and I suggested to the the neighbors that a retreat might be in order as the clouds started to move in two different directions towards each other. I was surprised to see pretty heavy traffic on Bardstown Rd, including Tarc buses on their regular schedule. Way to go, Tarc. You get ten points for dependability. The cycling clouds continued to dip downward as they moved towards Bowman Field and St. Matthews area.
The worse we have gotten so far is rain and lightning. Sirens continue to start and stop as if they are saying "You're in danger. No you're not. You're in danger. No you're not". This has been fantastic for completely fraying the nerves of everyone in the basement. Since the storms show no sign of ebbing, beds have been made up in the basement for everyone, and the children are in a state of chaos. To make matter worse, small rivers have found their way into the basement, causing the children to throw every clean towel in the house down despite being told the water will head down the drain. Adults turn on each other to argue whether or not the children should be doing so. It seems that we are pretty safe from tornados, as they all seem to pass us by and head for areas like Middletown and Anchorage. However, I just might need a rescue crew to save me from the sensory overload of bouncing, crying children and stressed adults.
A darkness approached our home near Assumption High School from the northern end of Bardstown Rd.
You can see a difference in the sky on either side of the tree as the darkness moved in.
The darkness continued to roll in and began to move in a slight circular motion
The cycling clouds moved away from us towards St. Matthews.
