dsteele Posted May 12, 2003 Author Share Posted May 12, 2003 OX: Welcome to the forums. I hope you'll enjoy them and get good stuff out of them. Mark, thanks for the kind mention. I try. Talking about lawyers in the troop -- When I was a Scoutmaster, I recruited a corporate attorney to be the committee chair. He did a good job. The only problem was that he takled in his sleep about his cases. The cases he talked about happened to be a nationally visible product liability law suite, so at least his midnight discussions with himself were interesting. I did, however, wish for thicker walls on my tent. DS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hops_scout Posted May 12, 2003 Share Posted May 12, 2003 You get hit by those storms the other day???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsteele Posted May 13, 2003 Author Share Posted May 13, 2003 Hi Hops! I'm assuming you were directing your question to KWC57 -- who lives in Oklahoma City. KWC I hope you're okay as well as your family. To answer Hop's question, I'm in Wisconsin and all we had were some high winds, but no tornados in my neck of the woods. I've been through several, however, and they're never fun. One went over our heads and ripped our Baker tent (which had no floor) off the ground and sent it flying about half a mile. The only reason we were okay, other than being scared and wet, was because our Scoutmaster had us camp in a gully that day. KWC57, are you okay? I do know from watching Fox News Sunday, that the American Red Cross needs donations for their disaster relief fund due to the high number of tornardos this May. The number, if you want to give is 1-800-help-now. I'm not affiliated with the ARC at all, but called the number yesterday and easily gave them some money. My wife didn't even yell at me! KWC -- we hope to hear from you soon. You're in my prayers. DS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hops_scout Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 Yep, that was directed towards him. We got hit bad too, but not as bad as them or right across the river did. We spent part of Saturday evening without power( which means I couldnt be on here with all of you:(). Hope your alright down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsteele Posted May 13, 2003 Author Share Posted May 13, 2003 If there's anything my wife and I or the youth and units of the Southeast Wisconsin Council can do to help you or anyone else effected by the disasters, please let us know. We'll do all we can. I'm glad to hear you're okay, hops! DS How about KWC? I hope it's just a lack of power. I have been near enough to enough tornados to know their power. But the power of Scouting is made of sterner stuff. If you need anything, let us know. I'm sure someone can provide it or the means to get it. DS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR540Beaver Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 We had a little excitement last Thursday, but we are fine. Usually my Mom meets my 10 year old son at our house each day when he rides the bus home from school. She had gone out of town that day with some lady friends from church, so he was home alone. It is just two hours from the time he gets home from school and I get home from work. He is a mature and responsible kid who can be home alone, but grandma likes to spend time with him. I left work about 30 minutes early because my dog had an appointment at the Vet. I called my son on my cell to let him know I was on my way home. After I hung up, I turned on the radio and they had issued a tornado watch just west of our area. He has always been afraid of storms. The BIG May 3rd tornado that hit a few years ago missed our house by just a few blocks. He has seen what kind of damage a tornado can do because we had to drive thru it daily. anyway, I called him back and told him I didn't want him to be afraid, but there was a warning out and he needed to put down his reading homework and turn on the TV. We literally have the most advanced tornado tracking technology in the world in OK and they can tell you what intersection the storm will be at and at what time. I told him that if it was heading towards our house, he was to go across the street to a neighbors house. The gentleman works nights and is home in the afternoon. No sooner did I hang up and try to plave another call, but my cell went dead. I raced across town trying to get home. When I got there and ot out of my truck, I noticed that the air was very still and very quiet. It often gets that way right before a tornado. The calm before the storm. I ran in the house and my son was nowhere to be found. I had noticed that the neighbors house had no cars on the driveway and their door was shut. I ran across the street and rang the bell. No answer. I rang it again and was waiting when I began to hear a rushing, wooshing sound behind me. I turned to see a wall of rain flying at my sideways and wispy clouds beginning to rotate above my house. Needless to say, I ran back to my house to take cover and in a panic wondering where my son had gone. The electricity went out and the phones too for only a few seconds. The phone rang and it was my wife checking up on us. While my cell was dead, she had called and talked to him and told him to go across the street immediately. Our neighbor had called her when my son got over there and told her they were going a mile down the road to a relatives house who had a storm shelter. While I was standing on the porch talking to my wife, I saw my neighbor turn the corner. I noticed his fender was dented and remember wondering what happened to his beautiful new GMC truck. They pulled up in front of the hose and rolled down the window. My son stuck his head out the window and shouted, "Dad, we drove thru a tornado, we drove thru a tornado!!!" Evidently I had just missed them pulling out of the neighborhood when I pulled in. They were about a half mile down the road when the beginnings of the tornado touched down right beside them. There was my neighbor, his wife, son, mother-in-law, dog and my son in the truck. They said telephone poles started snapping of in front of and behind them. The truck started rocking and debris was flying over, under and around the truck. Something flew under the truck and punctured the gas tank. A huge piece of metal slammed into the front fender and then shattered the windshield. The side of the pickup bed was dented in and their was a crease alonf the top of the cab. It lasted only seconds and moved on. They turned around and came back home since the tornado was past them. My neighbor apologized and said he was trying to keep him safe and then drove him right into it. I told him how grateful I was that he was looking out for my son and that he was with him instead of home alone and scared stiff. I think it was actually good for my son in that he learned that while they can be deadly, they are also survivable. He now wants to be a storm chaser! He said it was the coolest thing he's ever seen in his "whole" life! You can imagine how his mom felt when she got home and saw the damage to the truck. He was the stud of the neighbothood the rest of the night walking around and telling all the other kids about his wild ride. The experience has prompted us to look into having a storm shelter built. This is the third tornado to come by our house since 1998. Sorry to make this post so wordy, but it is too good of a story (with a happy ending, thank the Lord) to pass up telling you. In short, we are fine and dandy and had no damage to us or our home. Pray for those who were not so lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsmom Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 kwc: Wow! What a story! I'm glad everyone was safe. I have always been fascinated by the weather and how things like tornadoes and hurricanes work. Maybe this will spark a lifelong interest for your son. Dsteele: I'm a lawyer! (see my original post on this thread). I haven't practiced for many years; I wanted a more 9-to-5 life (so I could have kids and a life outside of work) than a practicing lawyer could have. (You may now commence the lawyer jokes, but not cheap ones!). gsmom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR540Beaver Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 WHAT?! People tell lawyer jokes? ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltheart Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 So many jokes..... So little time...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR540Beaver Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 How many lawyers does it take to shingle a roof? 15.....if you slice them really thin! Ouch! Sorry, couldn't resist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hops_scout Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 (This message has been edited by hops_scout) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hops_scout Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 No.... it's: How many Frenchmen does it take to shingle a house? Depends on how thin you slice 'em. Another one(sorry, cant resist): How many Frenchmen did it take to defend Paris in the 20th century? Wouldnt know, never happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsteele Posted May 13, 2003 Author Share Posted May 13, 2003 Gsmom -- thanks for 'fessing up. Now I don't have to be the brunt of the jokes. Okay, actually I find the people on these boards to be very friendly and respectable. KWC, it sounds like you and your family really managed to dodge the bullet and that it went a long way toward easing your son's fears of big storms. If I can share a funny story . . . (of course I can. You can scroll past it if you'd like and I'll neverk know.) When I took emergency preparedness merit badge, the cold war was at it's height. One of the topics was how to survive a nuclear (although I think they still called it atomic) bomb. One kid said there was a specific position to assume when you heard about a coming blast. He said you hunker down, put your head between your knees and kiss your sweet patootie good-bye! The MB counselor tried not to laugh with the rest of us, but she wasn't successful. You mentioned that the air was very still and very quiet. I know that feeling. Was it also like looking at everything through an amber haze and a lot of ozone? Been there. It doesn't mean it's time to do my little buddie's "atomic send-off," but that it's time to seek immediate shelter. Glad you're okay. DS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OXCOPS Posted May 15, 2003 Share Posted May 15, 2003 What do you call skydiving lawyers? Skeet! OX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bondtrader Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 I traded fixed income securities for six years, now I run one of our fixed income trading desks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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