One spring day, a tornado hit the small community of IXL, east of town. It was really bad.  The next day there was lots of talk in the store about the storm and the damage, and I was listening as usual. Of course as small as I was, most of it didn't really make much since to me, but I took it all in anyway deciding what it meant with my limited knowledge. I knew something was turning and blowing stuff and it must be a big big wind if it could blow a cow around. I had a spinning top so I knew what spinning meant. I still had questions so I found my mothet who was working in the back of the store.
     "Mother, what is a tornado?"
     "It's a big wind that blows things away."
     "Will it blow people away like it did that cow?"
     "What cow?"
     "That one that got blown away last night Mr. Watson said that the farm animals were blown far, far away from where they lived and they are big   so will it blow people away too?"
     "Sometimes but people can take shelter."
     "What's shelter?"
     "They can find some place to hide so the storm won't get them."
     "Do we have some place to hide so the storm won't get us?"
     "Yes, your father and I will make sure you will be okay."
     "Then who's going to make sure you and Cootsie will be safe?"
     "God."
     I thought about that for a minute. "Will he turn Heaven out and let Lulu come home while he is helping us?"
     "Honey, Lulu has to stay in Heaven and take care of the little girls and boys there."
     I started to cry, "But she is my Lula and I need her." Mother stopped what she was doing and took me on her lap rocking me gently.
Sweetheart, God left me and your daddy here to take care of you. And he has Lulu to take care of the other children in heaven while he is busy with running the world."
     After a slight pause, "Is Lulu his only helper?
     "No, Baby, He has other helpers but Lulu is special. You know that, don't you?"
     "Uh huh."
     "You still Maw Maw. She loves you too and whatever you need LuLu to do, whe will be glad to do it for you. You know that right?"
     She continued to rock me and I finally stopped crying. I thought about all that was said and begin to feel better knowing I had Maw maw to ask.
     "The next day, a truckload of bodies covered with a tarp backed in at the funeral home. From the store up the street, I could see arms and legs hanging from under the tarp. They wouldn't let me go visit Booulah that day.
     It took a while to round up all of the farm animals. They tried to save all of the meat they could and those that could not be saved were butchered. Everybody was busy trying to get things back in order and I was busy listening to adults talk and forming my own conclusions. My daddy was busy grinding meat and cutting pieces into smaller sizes for the freezers. Smokehouses were running over. Some were still full from the winter before.
     Chilesville was another community north east of town that was frequently hit by tornados. Never was the distruction as bad as the storm that hit IXL.
     "That storm the other day killed Ole Man Justin's bull. drove a tree right through his side," reported Mr. Thornton. The other men standing around in the store had stories to tell too.
     Mr. Riley asked, "Did it kill him?"
     "Naw, when Jones found him, he was trying to run away from the stick but it wasclear through him, side to side."
     "What did he do?"
     "Ole Justin got his winchester and shot him in the head. Good thing too cause that woulda been too much meat to throw away. Cain"t be wasteful you know. Had to shoot him three times."
     "The storm stripped my corn field clean; it's the darn'ist thing to see, offered Mr. McIntosh. And the conversation continued.