Change of Plans

If you came back here last night or today expecting to see my post-viewing thoughts on Scream 4, you're gonna go away disappointed. 'Cause I haven't seen it yet. I have my reasons.



It's mostly because this happened yesterday. You can click here to see photos of the damage.

I was pretty much safe throughout the entire storm. It had been kind of overcast during the morning and early afternoon. Then I started seeing severe storm warnings on Facebook. So I turned on the television to see more of what was going on. The local CBS affiliate had taken over and were giving the storm's play by play. At the time I started watching, I was still not seeing anything more than wind and cloudy skies outside my window. But the reporters were talking about a Lowe's being demolished in Sanford, just southwest of Raleigh.

The meteorologists had no eyewitness reports of an actual tornado on the ground at that time, but they did show on their radar all the evidence that pointed to a funnel cloud having touched down. They tracked the tornado, saying that it's likely path would take it through downtown Raleigh, then northeast, up Capital Blvd.

That's when I really started paying attention. Capital Blvd. is the main stretch of road that takes you from Raleigh to Wake Forest (where I live). As far as the guys on TV could tell, the tornado was headed right in my direction. I left the TV on, but made my way to the bathroom. My building is older than dirt and pretty solid, so I didn't figure I'd have to worry about it collapsing around me. But the bathroom is an interior room with no windows. Why take chances?

Turns out I didn't really need to worry for my own safety. The tornado that cut its path through central North Carolina moved to the south of Wake Forest. Not very far away, but it still missed this town. I never even lost power. The storm moved on after a matter of minutes and the sun broke through to shine down on the destruction left in the tornado's wake. A lot of people lost homes and businesses. Some reports say that dozens even lost their lives. My prayers go out to the families that were actually touched by this devastating storm.