Glimpses into our lives

For those too lazy to write about themselves in that other thread ...

It's about 10 years ago, and I'm hearing all day about the bad weather that's on the way. Around 4 in the afternoon, I hear the severe weather sirens go off, and despite knowing it's a stupid thing to do, I go out on the porch to take a look at what's happening.

I have these potted plants hanging from hooks out there, and they're all swinging in unison, in perfect circles, in much higher arcs than was normal. And there's loud thunder and a nice deluge of rain coming down.

I grab a few essentials, stuff them into my pockets, and yank the mattress off my bed, hauling it into the bathroom, where I get into the tub and pull the mattress over me. Some time passes while I listen to the howling winds outside. My plants all ended up on the ground, but they were fine. There was no real damage done to anything around me.

Later that night, I heard the news -- the grocery store where my mother had just quit her job in the bakery had gotten a pretty direct hit from the tornado. That was the same store me and my little brother used to walk to, pockets full of quarters, to play video games. It was about four blocks south of my place.

The tornado tore the top off the store and left the groceries at the mercy of the rain and wind. It also exposed asbestos that definitely was not safe for humans to be around.

For years, the store was a wreck and no new company moved in -- it just sat there, sad and dead. Then, years later, a burgeoning grocer decided to actually buy the location, remove the asbestos and remodel.

Now the store is called El Rancho, and serves a largely Mexican-American clientele. It's a hell of a lot cleaner than it used to be, and a fun place to visit. You can buy carnitas tacos in the deli, and if you're white and can pronounce "carnitas" properly, they treat you like a special guest.

thats a good story, without the storm i can think of a few similar cases near me.. mind you not much sits as a wreck for long in sydeny in the past 15 years of property boom and popualtion growth.

Now guys, you do realise you will be accused of 'living your life on the forum' if you post stuff on here lol