Phoebe Pearson, Louisiana's friend from Texas (who is now at Louisiana's house!) writes her friend an email while she waits for her, her husband, and three of their children, to return home from Louisiana.
Sunday, the 12th of September, 2004, 7:16 p.m., C.S.T.~
Dear Louisiana:
Hello there! This is your friend, Phoebe Pearson, writing! I am at your house, writing on YOUR computer, writing you an email! (Now, is that strange, or WHAT?? LOL) I hope you are having a safe, uneventful trip so far back to Tennessee from Louisiana! How was the wedding? Are Jenna and Michael now officially "man and wife" (or should that be the other way around?? LOL)? How was the reception afterwards? Hope you all had fun!
Your father, Armand, was very gracious to let me, Linn, and Hanh stay here while we are here in Nashville. Y'all's weather is a lot cooler here; in Texas, it is still pretty warm, but the warm days are about to be gone in only a matter of a month or so. Pretty soon, the days will be starting to get cooler, and the nights may end up getting rather chilly. That is okay; I am ready for the fall to start! But the summer in Texas actually hasn't been all that bad: we have only had one really hot day, where it reached 100 derees for the high: the other days have been in the mid to upper 90's (with a few 80 degree days thrown in just to make things more exciting!). It has been rather wet both during the spring and summer, and in June, we had a spate of bad weather (including some flooding and even tornadoes) hit the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Thank GOD no flooding or tornadoes at our place, but an apartment complex in Burleson got hit by a weak tornado. It caused significant damage: 20 of the 30 apartments in the complex had major structural and water damage, displacing at least two dozen people. Hmm...the tornado may have been weak, but I am sure those who lost their apartments think otherwise!
I have been in plenty of tornadoes here in Texas; and I have learned to respect them and follow the safety rules; and we are fortunate to have a storm shelter. My husband got us one several years back, and we haven't regretted it for one single second! Whenever it "comes up a cloud" in Texas, we go directly to the shelter, with our weather radio, and we wait out the storm..and pray like heck! LOL I have seen some really nasty skies back in Texas, and I have also seen some really monsterous storms! Back in 1995, in May, Fort Worth experienced a hellacious hailstorm that injured quite a few people, and caused significant damage. The hail in question was as big as softballs. I remember the sound; and it was not something I would want to hear ever again! We were scared spitless, and we happened to be at a huge festival in Fort Worth (Mayfest), and we ran for shelter, praying for our very lives. Thank God we weren't seriously injured, but we were left with huge welts and bruises upon our bodies as the hail unmercifully pelted us. We thought we were going to get killed; but by a Miracle, we were not. But ever since then, hailstorms absolutely terrifly me. The kids and my hubby aren't too thrilled with them either! Which is one of the reasons we now have a storm shelter! We also had a tornado hit downtown Fort Worth on March 28, 2000, and several buildings (including the huge Bank One building) had significant damage; and parts of downtown Fort Worth looked like a war zone. It was horrible at best, and we were in our shelter, praying and hoping that the tornado wouldn't smack our area next. (Thank God it didn't! But the kids were so scared; and so were we!)
Have you ever had any tornadoes hit Nashville? What do you do when tornadic thunderstorms threaten? I am so glad you have a basement! You guys are so blessed! In Texas, very few homes have them, and most homes nowadays have nothing but a downstairs bathroom; and when severe weather threatens, we are told to "get to a nearby basement, or, if you don't have one, get to the lowest point in the house, preferably a center room, away from any windows". Not very reassuring to most Texas folk, seeing most of the homes (or businesses here do NOT have any underground shelters or basements to speak of!) We don't have a basement at our house, but we now have a storm shelter, and we thank God every day for it, especially in the spring, when our weather is at its wildest! :)
Have you ever been in a hurricane? Being from Lousiana, Louisiana (LOL), I am sure you have. I bet you have seen some mighty powerful hurricanes in your lifetime! I wouldn't want to be in a hurricane; tornadoes are bad enough! And so are hailstorms! YIKES! LOL
I hope you don't mind, but I put on some of your Cajun music tapes, to listen to as I type, and you know something? I kind of like it! It is so different, yet charming to listen to, and even though I don't understand a lick of what the singers are saying (I bet YOU know what they are saying; you will have to let me know what the song is about when you come back! LOL), I love the sound of the fiddle and accordion, and I love the bouncy, lively rhythms! My daughters seem to enjoy the music, and they are sitting here with me, listening intently; with smiles on their faces! Linn seems especially pleased with the Cajun music! Hanh could care less, but at least she isn't complaining about it.
Well, sweetie, I must go...see you when you get here! I can't wait for the girls to see you! They really love you, Miss Louisiana, and I do too! (I am kind of fond of you, you know...LOL)
Until later,
Your friend in Texas (who is now at your place in Tennessee! LOL), Phoebe. :)
i love this letter--a history of texas storms! hee hee
i know aaaaaaaalllll about those tornadoes and hailstorms...drives me nuts, when an alert's on, they tell you to get to a basement...i'm like, "yeah, RIGHT! not here!!" *wish i HAD a basement!!*
anyway, enjoyed this one, like i said--great write!
(((HUGS))) and love, and watch out for those storms LOL, karla. :)
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Sunday, the 12th of September, 2004, 7:16 p.m., C.S.T.~
