Where Were You April 16, 1998
I wished I had a laundry room and
not a laundry closet I would have it decorative
so cute....loving the signs.
Usually you would not be able to go
back 20 years and tell about a certain day
that long ago. But, for April 16, 1998 I can tell
you about that day in Nashville.
The day started off rocky. Listening to the
news, and watching the weather I decided
to go into work late and almost decided to
not send my kids to school.
There were storms all over west TN with
one tornado after another hitting on
its route to Middle TN.
I finally headed out to work. Parking in the
employee parking lot a few blocks from
where I worked. Weather was still iffy.
I entered the basement of the Andrew Jackson Bldg.
(where I worked for the printing division for the
state of TN). Everyone was talking about the
weather and I told them it would be okay,
that just a week before I saw a special on
TV that stated tornado's never hit downtown
areas. Being 20 yrs than I am now and not so
in tune to tornado's I thought that sounded good.
Not questioning how is that possible and how
does a tornado know if its a town or
residential area?
DUH!
I was in the purchasing section for printing
and as I am sitting there working on and
processing orders. As I was doing that my phone
rang, it was Pat from our warehouse blocks away.
He said that he just watched a tornado go past
headed our way.
Then the speaker all over the bldg that we all needed
to take cover, people were being pulled off the
streets and sent to the basement where we were.
Emergency generators came on after all the lights
went out. We buckled down.
I also had my radio on so I was just listening
to it all. Once it was called all clear I decided
I was heading out. The radio had announced it was
headed right to my mom's direction and the
direction of where my children were.
Had an issue getting out of town. Ringling Brothers
had been putting on a show the night before and the up
coming nights, they had a semi trailer that had been picked
up and thrown across the road.
But as I walked out of my bldg. this is the site
I saw.
The bldg. next door.
The bank bldg across the street.
I got down to parking lot. Cars where slammed into
each other, windows blown out...got to my
truck, all was well. Just a piece of installation
sticking out between the cab and bed. WOW...
Interstate was already packed, I took the back way
home. Coming to my son's school first. I picked him
up and he was scared to death. They all had been moved
to the hall and the tornado, not touching them but hit
all around them.
Drove a little more down the road to turn into my
moms neighborhood, everything seemed okay when
I first entered. But with her living in the back of the hood
I ran into issues. Every street leading to her home
was blocked.
right up the street from moms house.
(All these pics were taken the next day).
Finally after trying all roads I saw someone
run over a wire in the road and nothing
happened so I rode over it also, getting to
my mom's.
Mom, my daughter and niece had gone
to the basement and crawled under the stairway.
Amber held onto Holly, my niece while they
heard the tornado go over. Mom lost
a tree and some siding off the house,
but thank goodness that was all.
It could have been worse.
After checking on family around we headed home.
Driving down the main road to my house at sunset we
drive past the Hermitage, Home of President
Andrew Jackson's home and Tulip Grove (where
Jackson's niece lived). Tulip Grove in the sunset
looked like a war zone, it reminded me of the pic
of Tara (home from Gone with the Wind) after the
war. Trees were stripped of the leaves, all bare, trees
up rooted....I just wanted to get home and see
how my place fared.
Got home, my place was fine. The front of the
neighborhood took a little hit.
Course all these pics were taken the next day
as I traveled downtown, to East Nashville that
got hit the worse and my area.
You know me...I have to have pics of things
around me.
Here are a few more pics of East Nashville.
More from downtown...
and by the way, tornado's will and can hit
downtown areas!!
DUH again!
Bent this sign right over.
This is the bldg next to that sign.
A restaurant that had recently moved.
So....that was how my April 16, 1998
turned out. My mom and kids were safe,
my place was safe. Nashville recovered just
like we recovered the floods of 2010.
And yes, I was out with my camera then also.
Today, thank goodness no tornado's reported
to take place here today!
Keep in mind, this is not the first
tornado that has traveled over my
house. Yes before we had a small one
that went over but not hitting the ground.
It took and twisted my crepe myrtle tree
and it grew twisted around for years until
it finally straightened out and just a
few years ago Dakota and I sitting here
in our safe place one went over touching
down in Mt Juliet, and took out the
Dollar General store. Just 7 mins from
my home. I have been lucky.
Thanks for stopping in and reading this long
blog.
Comments
PS: We are under so much stress lately...the Stella and Pavlov situation...we've reached out limit. We called our friend and told him enough was enough, seven months of babysitting his dogs when it was supposed to be 1 week...what with Jack's situation, we realized we can't be so generous anymore. He is supposed to give us news this week as to whether he's coming himself to get them by mid-May or if he has someone to babysit them...so...my blogs have been neglected lately...and it's the Thoughts blog I should NOT be neglecting when I'm so stressed because my spiritual side needs to keep me strong. Thanks for your comment...if we don't lose power today (ice storm currently) I'll be posting something there. You're very sweet you know? :)
Have a fabulous day and week. ♥
From the comments not like this one if you hunkered down there during a tornado. Must have been quite the storm if you remember the date.
I've never yet experienced a Tornado.
So pleased that your family were all ok.
All the best Jan
So glad you all were spared, Pam.