You Say Tornaydo

Today was a day when you realize people are a “learning species.”

My apartment windows in Queens all face due west, so I have this fun view of Northwestern Queens overlooking trees, onto the upper East Side of Manhattan. So I see all the storms coming in from the West.

Today was no exception. There was a very dark line heading toward me. I could also see where the white line was past that. Looked like a squall. Thunder and lightning were in the distance. But it all sounded so far away and I thought, “This is one of those storms that is going to pass right by. I can hear it but I’ll never see it. It’s probably up in the Bronx.”

Where did I learn this? In California, where storms just pass right over and most likely go dump their wrath up in the mountains. I thought this was the same thing. Based on just the thinnest similarity. Bad monkey!

So I put on my shorts and headed out to the gym. Still, nothing much, thunder in the distance, then a few rain drops. So I just kept walking.

Alas, some sort of tornado thing came through and a huge bolt of lightning struck and was followed by thunder almost instantaneously. I thought I was hit. I guess I was not. But I still haven’t felt right since. (Probably got psychically shaken.) It was so strong and I’ve never been that close before.

I hid out on the edge of a building when the rain and wind became ferocious. Not enough protection, so I ran around the corner and stood in front of another building’s entryway. A man and his son were there, too. The little boy was screaming and crying. It really was a nutty situation.

Then it passed. And I went to the gym.

I think the trajectory was this: Park Slope, Bushwick, Glendale-Ridgewood Queens, Middle Village, Flushing, Great Neck. At least, that was most likely the exact center of it. But Jackson Heights is triangled right into Middle Village and Flushing. It was pretty scary and strange.

I’ve never been in a tornado before. And though this was not the classic thin funnel cloud, it was definitely a tornado. A fat one. Strange. Did not like it at all. And once I read about this stuff online, they say if you hear thunder, stay indoors until you don’t hear it any longer for at least thirty minutes.

“Dorothy, I don’t think you’re in California anymore.”