> Once, several years ago, I heard sirens* that seemed to go on forever. I turned on the police scanner and soon learned that a tornado had passed through my old neighborhood. Fortunately I moved four miles out into the country sometime before it hit. One woman was killed and about a hundred injured. Dozens of homes were leveled.
> ...But that was several years ago.
> This morning, I went out to do a little early-season yard work. I heard sirens again. Again, they seemed to go on forever. Back to the scanner. They were talking about traffic, and "going around to the back of it" but they never said what "it" was, so I got into the truck and drove into town. By the time I got to the highway, I could see a hugh black, tornado-shaped cloud. But it wasn't a storm, it was smoke. An entire block of downtown Lenoir City was on fire!
> It destroyed a four story apartment complex which was once a hotel, a barber shop and several stores. Nobody hurt or killed, but the look of downtown was changed forever. So how was YOUR day?
> Howard
> *Sirens is pronounced "sigh-reens" in this area.
UPDATE
The ruins are still smoking two days after the fire. Most of the people who lived in the apartments were Mexican immigrants who worked in the nearby Monterey Mushroom plant. They were poor, now they have absolutely nothing. I stood a block from the fire and listened to their TV sets exploding. In some cases, it was the first TV they had ever owned. Most were bought secondhand at the Habitat for Humanity thrift store down the street. Now, even that is gone.(along with eight other stores) Some people never get a break.
H.
Omigosh! I've done it again! I posted a reply to my own post. Will I never learn?