Whew!!! Mercifully, there is no apparent post-storm damage of any sort in the yard despite that wicked wind which was rattling about on Wednesday night; really, what an ugly collection of weather days this week has been for Lincoln Park. Yesterday morning I got suited up for a walk, stepped outside to feel mist and light drizzle, so instead I took a quick trip into the backyard to check for any weather damage issues. Everything looked good so I beat it back into the house again. Today, the sun belied how cold and blustery it really was outside (dare I use the words “cold” and “blustery” on May 24th?). I left really early, stepping out at 7:20 a.m. in sweats, a sweatshirt cardigan and I even hustled back to grab gloves and a light raincoat (I refuse to don a hat this late in the season). I was still shivering for most of my walk. I got 1 ¾ miles in and while I walked I saw alot of large tree branches laying in yards and in the street. The last few nights, my neighbors’ front trees were swaying wildly as the winds whooshed through them; didn’t like that at all. But all this inclement weather pales in comparison to the devastating E-5 twister that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma this past Monday. I live in fear a tornado will come barreling through this city and wreak havoc and I will be homeless. My fear seems to intensify as I get older. I watched the videos and still shots of the tornado’s aftermath on my computer and the devastation was so horrific. There were so many interviews conducted with people left with nothing more than the clothes on their back – cherished mementos, a lifetime of memories, just reduced to rubble in the blink of an eye. There were stories of bravery, some which tore at your heart. I wept as I watched the older woman reciting her tale of the tornado’s appearance and destruction in her house, and while she was standing amidst the remnants of her home and lamenting the apparent loss of her little dog, who should poke its head out from beneath some boards during the interview? The woman cried out and said she asked God to spare her and her little dog and now she was granted both wishes. The loss of her home seemed inconsequential to her; she had her most-treasured possessions: life and her pet. And, how refreshing to hear positive stories about people banding together to collect money and items to send to Moore; sometimes mankind rises to the occasion, but sadly ofttimes it takes a disaster for people to shine doesn’t it? The news headlines are full of negative commentary about how we treat one other. Sometimes a life is treated like it has no worth. So sad. Perhaps Mother Teresa said it best: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other” … I know that quote sums up my this writer’s feelings. The people in Oklahoma are determined to rebuild and will stay on in that state in the very area known as Tornado Alley. Sometimes our people in our nation are more resilient than you could imagine. The people of Oklahoma are such folk. On the topic of resiliency, on a lighter note – I made an amazing observation during my walk today. I saw many broken Robin’s eggs laying on the sidewalks as I walked. I figured that the baby Robins hatched and the cracked eggshells remained in the nest and the little ones either got too big and knocked them out of the nest, or they blew out with the high wind velocity. Robin’s eggs are so easily recognizable with their pretty blue shell but what astounded me was how many eggshells, cleanly broken in a zigzag fashion, were laying intact on the ground … just perfectly cracked open but no other breaks and clean as a whistle. How resilient those pretty pastel eggshells are despite looking so fragile like a English bone china teacup? Imagine falling from those tall trees and not shattering? Those delicate eggshells were scattered everywhere I walked this morning. So they are not so fragile at all. I stepped around them as I was not going to be the one to spoil their beauty. They reminded me of several English bone teacup/saucer sets my grandmother gave me for long-ago birthdays. I prefer a mug but my mom and I said for years we were going to have a lazy Sunday and make a good pot of English tea and sip our tea from these fine, very thin teacup/saucer sets, and of course crooking our pinkies while doing so. Sadly, we never took the time to do this together, so I think I will put Twinings Earl Grey on my grocery list and have teatime. Scones anyone?