angry clouds darken, lowerin' the skies,
and against the treetops, a restless wind cries,

it seems a big storm is comin' this way...
before it's all over, they'll be hell to pay,

there's a yellowish-green tint in the air,
in the far off distance, bluish lightning flares,

thunder mutters, says the storm's almost here...
a load roaring noise says the storm's gone severe,

in the air, you can hear approachin' hail,
there's the scream of a tornado siren's wail,

the wind's risin', can't stand before its force...
get below ground! there's no choice! you've no recourse!

overhead, you hear an ominous roar,
the sound of rain and hail and wind...and much more...

you pray, and wish the beast would go away,
it takes forever...looks like it wants to stay...

frantically worry...will your house survive...
wonder if you'll get killed or buried alive...

the frenetic noise calms down to a breeze,
you wonder how much of your life is debris...
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i've been in three tornadoes. the first in
1977, when a waterspout made landfall in
sandusky, ohio, from lake erie.

the second one was in 1983, at carswell
air force base, in fort worth, texas; i was in
the hospital at that time. all they could do
was pull all of the patients' beds out into
the hallways, away from windows...there
was no time to do anything else. i was on
the third floor...wishing they'd take me to
the basement! you could hear the hail
bustin' out the windows. scared me to
death.

the third tornado was in 1996, in burleson,
texas...it hit at 8:45 p.m., on january 17;
that one hit with no warning. lost my roof
in that one...there i am, at my best friend's
apartment, in the bathroom, listening to the
sound of the sirens wailing, wishing i *had*
access to a basement (no such luck!!).

that's three tornadoes too many...my daddy
teases me, asks me if i'm interested in be-
coming a storm chaser. HELL, NO--the
damn things are chasin' ME!! :0