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| Blogs > kittyliquor519 > Hiding in plain sight |
May 20, 2013
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May 20, 2013 No, that was not a typo, I intended to say Two Thousand Thirteen. I was in OKC (that's Oklahoma City for those who may not know) with my truck in the shop and I was at a hotel, the Springhill Suites to be exact. I-40 exit 146 if I am not mistaken. Werner has a dropyard there in OKC and it was one of my favorite places to be...a very nice disc golf course 7 miles away, a decent truckstop right around the corner from the yard as well as a very large shopping center and food mall/restaurants across the freeway. I had arrived on or about the 14th or 15th and put my truck in the shop and unfortuantely it was going to take a week to get diagnosed, get the part and get it installed. Oh well, mini vacation!  Since I was going to be there on my B-day I thought about going to see a movie but the cost of getting to the theater was too much so I opted to stay in LOL!  Late morning/early afternoon (I do not remember the exact time) on the 20th, the day after my B-day, with the news on the TV they issued a tornado warning and sure as shit an EF5 touched down southwest of Moore which is about 5 miles south of OKC. I watched the whole thing from beginning to end on the news from their helicopter and ground crews. Incredible. Amazing. Devastating. I was awestruck. I had seen videos, pictures and heard about tornadoes of course, but had never experienced one first hand. I could not believe the damage. It actually traveled right next to the theater I had planned on visiting the day previous. There was one micro neighborhood that was completely leveled...5 or 6 parallel streets each about a half mile long all interconnected. nothing left but piles of lumber. That theater (basically untouched) was located next to a medical center which was also leveled before the twister jumped the freeway and eventually died on the other side after destroying several houses. I had gone down to the end of the hallway at the hotel and saw the leading edge of the storm as it passed. I continued watching as more reports of damage and casualties came in, police alerts about avoiding the area so rescue workers could do their jobs etc. Despite my previous detached tornado experiences I had to do something. I felt like I could not just sit there without helping in SOME way or another. The news reported they had set up a relief station for collecting donations for victims. Of course!! I called the station and asked if they could find someone to assist me with a pick-up truck. I was blown off, understandable since they were obviously busy with other things. I went down to the front desk and asked if someone there had a truck or if they knew someone, nope. But the manager said I could use their shuttle van...awesome!! The driver and I went across the street into the shopping center where the Wal*Mart is and he dropped me off while I went inside. I grabbed a cart and went to work  I loaded in handfuls of soap, about 30 packages of multi-pack toothbrushes, handfuls of travel size toothpaste, 30 or 40 small deodorants, several economy sized packages of toilet paper, diapers and tampons as well as any other bathroom necessities I saw. I had realized there were a great many people who would need these seemingly mundane things, things we normally take for granted but when you don't have them available..... Then I asked to speak to the manager. "How much for a pallet of water?" I asked. The manager gave me a little bit of a price break considering why I was buying it. I spent a total of a little over $700 and it didn't seem like it was enough. We loaded it up into the van and headed to the news station. There was a line about a half mile long to get there...what an amazing thing to witness, the community coming together in a time of crisis to help those in need, made me feel good I walked up ahead to speak to someone about my large contribution and if there was a special place for us to unload, there was Now, I know this might sound a little bad, but I was hoping for some sort of recognition based on the "large" I was bringing in. Maybe get on the news for a minute, nothing big. Pffft! HA!!  What I had brought was just a drop in the bucket compared to what had already been dropped off and there were several other people who had brought very large donations like mine.Was I disappointed? Hardly!! I was even more awestruck by what I was witnessing, I had never seen anything like that before, community support so strong I suppose some might think me narcissistic for being so proud of myself in stepping up, especially since I was just a visitor. Nope, not even a second thought about it. Once I made my mind up I WAS going to help and there would be no stopping me in any way! I always felt good about that experience despite the unfortunate circumstances. In the year and a half afterwards I was to remain driving a rig I went through that area 4 or 5 times and it was simply amazing to see the damage on both sides of the freeway not to mention the way construction quickly rebuilt things. What an awesome event for me to have been a part. I hope to never EVER have to do it again. Everyone is on a different plane of intelligence. Some people's plane has not taken off yet!!  |
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What a generous and thoughtful thing to do! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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good on you for helping.. it feels good to help, no matter how big or small the part you play. I helped with some sandbagging in Winnipeg when we had the horrible flooding here in the Red River Valley during the 'flood of the century' the spring of 1997 (deemed to be the worst flood in Canadian history)... it may not have been much, but for the people who lived in the building we sandbagged and kept dry, it was everything. We are lucky here in Manitoba that when we flood, we have enough notice to sandbag and save most homes. This is a picture of the areas flooded that year, from down in North Dakota and Minnesota, USA to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Also very lucky that when the strongest tornado to hit Canada hit my hometown of Elie, Manitoba in 2007, it just sat outside of town for 1/2 hr before getting to the edge of town, allowing everyone time to get to safety. [image]
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What an awesome experience!!!!!! I understand you hoping not to be in such a situation again, but that good feeling of helping and giving will remain with you, because, IMO, it's one of the most fulfilling of them all!! Happy belated birthday!!! Hope it was one that you'll remember, in a good way that is!!!    WITHOUT PASSION LIFE IS NOTHING
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This is awesome .. So happy you were able to help out. It is a wonderful thing to do in life hugssssssssssss V Happy belated birthday sexy! Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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IMO In My Opinion! WITHOUT PASSION LIFE IS NOTHING
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IMO ... (sorry I couldn't resist) there is some degree of selfishness & narcissism in everyone. What separates us is the degree, some exhibit more or less than others. Do you have any Primal Urges ... I do, please CUMHANDLEME and explore some of my naughty and nice Primal ... Urges with me !!!
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The best ones/gifts for me are those given anonymously..... Great job!
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What an incredible flood, holy cow!! I agree with the feeling you get when helping, I'm sure you felt it much more than I did 
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