Toto, I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore

The Wizard of Oz made a lasting impression on me.  I was in preschool when I first saw it on television.  I have to admit that of all things to be scared of in the movie, it was the Munchkins that really got me.  I had never seen "little people" before.  It seems so silly now, with flying monkeys, wicked witches and the "All Powerful Oz" that I would focus on the Lollipop Kids.

I grew out of my fear of Munchkins, but I have never gotten over my fear of tornadoes.  The sound of the siren instantly sends a wave of terror through me.  I know that my fear began from the twister in the Wizard of Oz, but over the years other circumstances have added to it.  I remember clearly from my early elementary days having to stay in the basement while a severe storm blew through our town.  My grandparents and parents lived through the Palm Sunday tornadoes and their stories scared me.  I also heard the firsthand recount of my Uncle June and Aunt Vi's telling of being caught in a tornado at their lake house one summer evening.

It also didn't help that every time my brother wanted to get rid of me (I was five years younger and a pest, I know) he would yell, "Tornado!"  I, of course, would run to the basement.  I also misunderstood my Dad.  He said that before a tornado there is a sound like a train.  I thought he said that there was a train, so when I heard the train whistle I would, once again, head for cover.  When we bought our current home 15 years ago, I insisted that we only look for ones that have basements.

This latest round of tornadoes in Oklahoma adds to my fear.  Last night I listened to a teacher cry as she talked about her classroom that was hit the hardest.  She did what she could to save her third graders, but seven of her twenty students died in the storm.  The devastation is astounding.  Piles of rubble everywhere.  Cars tossed like Hot Wheels.  However, there are amazing stories of rescue and survival.  All remind me that life can change in an instant.   I will try and not fear what I cannot control.  It is hard for me to do, but on the bright side I did overcome my fear of Munchkins!!