You know, I whined about the weather a fair bit in the last little while. It was snowy, cool, and miserable for much of our vacation south, and the weather seems to have followed us. Ottawa was nice when we arrived but pouring rain when we left. It was gorgeous here the day we got home, but since then it has snowed steadily under dark grey skies.
But I feel terrible about that whining today. Our weather didn't destroy our home and most of our belongings, almost killing us in the process.
Debby is a friend, and extremely talented artist, who writes that absolutely amazing blog Drawing the Motmot. And really, if you have never visited her blog you need to. The art is stunning, and her writing sublime.
Yesterday her home was destroyed by a tornado in a storm that spawned a number of them that ripped through Oklahoma. She and Mike narrowly escaped, making it to the cellar just as the tornado hit. Elsewhere the storm killed at least five people.
This is a photo of her house from her facebook page.
As bad as losing the house would be I find my thoughts keep turning to the things that filled up that house, the things that one gathers around them throughout their lives. The home of an artist and scientist must be especially filled with objects, art and keepsakes that enriched that home. As I laid in bed last night I kept thinking about a book of Mike's, E.O. Wilson's mighty tome on ants inscribed by Wilson himself, somewhere in that rubble.
Houses can be rebuilt. Debby and Mike are safe. That is the key thing obviously. I just can't imagine, as I look around the apartment with only a portion of our keepsakes and treasures here, what it would be like to lose all of that. I wish I could help, and I hope that very soon Debby will be gazing out her studio window at scenes like this one that she posted just a week ago.