Story by Jon Stalnaker AKA The Studebaker Dude
We moved to Oklahoma at the end of February 2021. If you were around then, it was about a week after the big storm that wreaked havoc around these here parts. We missed the power outages but we got here in time to pay for it through higher rates. (you’re welcome)… We were here just a couple weeks when we got to experience our first tornado warning, siren and all. We watched the weather coverage and luckily we didn’t have to get into our storm shelter, especially since we had not purchased one yet. About a week later we had our new “fraidy hole” installed and I was happy to say that we hadn’t use it, that is until last weekend.
Ever since we decided to move from California to Oklahoma, I have been quick to pontificate about how tornados are acts of God and if He wanted to take me out, He could just as easily do it in California with a wildfire or an earthquake. We lived in the flight path of Travis AFB and frequently had the huge C5 cargo planes flying low overhead preparing to land. It would have been easy for God to drop one of those big planes onto my house while I was innocently watching Survivor on TV. So, after 3 years of dust gathering in our storm shelter, I was feeling pretty safe. I was even getting a little cocky, making fun of Oklahoma’s reaction to earthquakes and morning fog. (see my February 8th Story) While we have certainly had tornados in the past 3 years, they haven’t come close enough to us to strike the fear of God’s fury into every corpuscle of my being. All that changed over the last few days.
I believe it was last Thursday when we were told to take shelter and we saw firsthand, how tight we were in that tiny, solid, bolted-down, supposedly indestructible capsule. After we were safe from certain destruction, we came out to see that we were indeed among the lucky ones. We had barely recovered from that stressful experience when Saturday night brought us even closer. While we didn’t have to get in the shelter this time, we were just waiting for the instruction to do so and were ready to do it again. These tornados were even bigger and closer than the other ones and it turned out to be deadly for 5 unfortunate fellow Oklahomans. On Sunday we watched the news showing the devastation and were surprised to see the meteorologists talking about yet another one.
Okay God, you got my attention. These people you see on TV saying “we are all fine. All this debris is just stuff and can be replaced” are no longer strangers, but friends and family. Not only did I stress out about maybe losing all the hard work of the last couple of years on our home, we had to worry about my daughter and her husband and all their animals. They were also in the path. Our friends Amy and Shawn who are settling in from their move from California were in the path too. And another California friend, Denise, that has been in Oklahoma a lot longer than us, posted what she had been through helping the people of Sulphur about 20 miles away from her home. It could’ve been her just as easily cleaning up her own debris. These Oklahoma people are awesome.
I’m a little confused about how to process all of this. I posted a whiny complaint on Facebook and most of my old California friends were commenting for us to be safe. First off I need to thank God for keeping us safe. While I have been quick to say that when my time is up, I’m ready to go, it certainly doesn’t mean I want to die, Even just living with everything you have worked so hard for being reduced to rubble is a hard pill to swallow. I’m not comfortable enough with myself to expect any favors from the All Mighty, but I praise Him for sparing us from what I see others suffering. I am in awe of the spirit and resilience of the Oklahoma people that I see dealing with this. I may be an Oklahoman now, but I bow down to their excellent grit, resolve, strength, and heart. I’ve learned a new definition to the word grit. It is no longer just something I love to eat with my eggs or shrimp. It is now a characteristic that I can strive for to be worthy of calling myself an Okie. I don’t want to just be safe from these tornados, trusting God is the easy part. Dealing with what God allows to happen is a bigger part to this experience. I want to be a true Oklahomie like all y’all.
