The weather has been mixed but pleasant, with some glorious spring days, good rain, and the occasional chilly morning. The weeds are coming up through the cracks in the roads, sidewalks, and curbs, and as we walk, I note that life (especially weed life) finds a way.
The skies were sparkling blue on this day downtown and we walked up Brown Street and by the kooky little triangle building and then over to Center Avenue. Almost a month ago was when the big storm hit, March 2nd I think, and some say there were some micro-tornadoes that hit that day, but Brownwood was really blessed that things weren’t as bad as they could have been. I was at work behind the bar that evening.
Was an interesting night that night. I was at the bar and we’d only been open a short time. We had a small group in the dining room, but it was early and we were fully staffed when the tornado alarms went off. Some staff had come to me just before that and showed me the radar of the storms coming. Looked like it could get fun.
Of course, I made jokes (because that’s what I do.) “If only we were in a solid early 20th-century bank with 18-inch stone and concrete walls, massive vaults, and a basement with 4 feet of concrete and rebar all the way around!”
“If this gets really bad, we got booze and steaks for weeks.”
“If we end up in Oz we’re hunting and eating the flying monkeys. I don’t care to meet the Wizard.”
Some good friends messaged me and asked if Danielle and I had a place to go since I’m not really usually working on Thursday nights. We love that they thought of us. I messaged Danielle and told her to come to the restaurant and she did, but she seriously pulled a muscle running over. She’s been sore and limping for most of the month. She brought Merle (our doggy) over too.
We did go open the vault door and the door to the basement. We got everyone away from the windows. When the big winds hit it sounded like a train going right down Center Avenue and it blew a dumpster on our corner out into the street. The windows shook and there was a roar.
After it was past, Tuna (our chef) said “well, did that just kill our night?” “Probably,” I said.
But it didn’t. Folks still came out and we had a really good night.
That was probably selfish of us, but when things happen you tend to think closer to home. Other people had major damage.
On this day, with the blue skies and trees all leafed out and the weeds coming up on the sidewalks, we head toward Fuzzy’s and Shaw’s. The old Blevins building across Center had the roof blown off of it in the March 2nd storm. I saw the video of it, and it was pretty crazy.
You all are used to me taking some time to get to the point, and this is finally it. It’s that time of year and you should be prepared for anything. But more than that, take time to enjoy yourself and notice the good things when you can. Most of the time there are NOT tornadoes, and we tend to take those times for granted. A big one hit a town in Mississippi the other day and nearly wiped it out. If you saw any of the drone images of the storm that was sitting on Brownwood on March 2nd you would know and understand the scope of what we missed. Being blessed and thankful goes beyond a nod and a wink. It also means multiplying our thankfulness and awareness of all of the good that happens to us every day that we usually miss.
We circled through the old Hastings parking lot and walked homeward on Fisk. The weather was just right and there were flowers here and there and just the slightest of breezes that would ripple through the trees and the newly green leaves of spring. Our eyes are open. I notice again the beauty all around us, and as we go past the parking lot of the elections office we see the tiny pieces of roofing debris, detritus from the storm, spread all around.
We used to say “walk with your eyes open.” Many people have their eyes open but they don’t see anything. Their attention is turned inward. They have eyes but do not see. “Walk with your eyes open” just means that our world is alive with noticeable things. The good things that happen to us go largely unnoticed.
Notice.
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Michael Bunker is a local columnist for BrownwoodNews.com whose columns appear periodically on the website.
