Journal 29

Many humans believe that they are in control of the world, but then Mother Nature will strike and remind us who really is in charge. This can be seen in the hurricanes that affect the coast to the earthquakes that shakes the earth. An example of this is the storm that occurred several years ago. I was very young and was frightened by this storm. Lightening flashed in the night sky and thunder rumbled around my home. I recall the hail that beat upon the roof of my house and my growing sense of unease. After the storm started, my parents turned on the television to find out what was going on with the weather. I watched with fear as the news anchors begged the audience to not go out in the weather unless absolutely necessary. They reported that funnel clouds had been spotted in the area and the weather was right for one of the worst natural disasters:a tornado. Soon, the storm began to get worse and worse. Before long the electricity began to flicker before going completely out. I sat in the dark, unable to look out and see what exactly was going on in the world around me. My family had to get out the flashlights and the battery run radio. Eventually, I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning the power was still out, but now I could look and see the destruction the storm had brought. Tree branches lay across the highway near my home and around my yard. Later, I would find out that a tornado had touched down, not twenty miles from my house. For weeks after that I would see bits and pieces of the destruction that the tornado had brought upon my environment. A building would have damage here and there, and the power lines took several days to get back up and running. The destruction was great and I saw for one of the first times in my life the strength of nature.