I survived.

It's been a very surreal vacation. I was bumming because I didn't have enough money to even go camping for a few days, but was determined to ignore house cleaning and enjoy the time. So, Friday I was out at Fox Island enjoying a swim when one of the groundskeepers came riding up on  his mower and wagon. He said there was a storm approaching from the west,   it was in Columbia City, and coming our way.  When I looked at the sky, it did look pretty threatening. I packed up the bike and headed east on Yohne Rd like a bat out of hell. I hung a left on Smith and thought Engle would be quickest,, but when I got to Knoll Ave. there was a train blocking the tracks. I was beginning to be very alarmed, the wind was blowing so hard that it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep the bike upright. I turned right on Knoll to get away from the crosswind and keep moving towards home, but as soon as I turned the corner I started worrying that I'd made a mistake. The trees lining the road were bending and audibly cracking all around me. The wind was blowing so hard that I was afraid to go faster than 40. I jogged Ardmore to Sandpoint and was starting to feel better about getting home alive. Then the storm started in earnest. There were a couple of trees already down on Sandpoint and traffic was taking turns navigating around them. I made it across the railroad tracks, but the wind was so strong that I lost my nerve. I saw a  place to pull the bike off  the road, right in front of the Nazarene Church. Even though there was no porch roof, it gave me a feeling of security to stand beside a stone wall, but the sense of security didn’t last long as I looked around to see all the potential trees that could still fall and squash me flat. I went around to the east side of the building where I stood for the duration of the storm. The temperature rapidly dropped 20 degrees and as my boots filled with water I gritted my teeth and crossed my fingers hoping no vehicle would swing wide around the corner and take out  my bike, or the wind toss it ass over teakettle. 15 min. later, the wind had subsided enough to get back on the bike and head home. Another half mi. and I found Bluffton Rd. blocked by a police car, only 3 blocks from home. When I rode up to ask the officer whether Winchester was open, he  was less than friendly.  He came charging out of his car saying, “What? Do you think I’m out here in the middle of the road for fun?! There’s a power line down, you can’t go this way!” He was less than helpful  with possible alternative routes. I thought they had radios to communicate info, but this surly officer wasn’t forthcoming with anything useful . So, I turned  and headed back downtown towards Taylor, Of course this all happened  at quitting time and since all the traffic lights were out, it took me another hour and a half to retrace my route through the carnage on Sandpoint Rd. the long way round to get home. When I  finally got there I was elated to find the two huge oaks at the end of my driveway still standing. My neighbor 4 houses down wasn't so lucky, but it looks as though their roof is still whole enough to make the house habitable. That's the 5th house crushed by the oaks falling on my block since 2000. It makes me so sad to see them go. They create such an atmosphere of shady graciousness. If it weren't for the two at the end of my driveway, I'm sure my cooling bill would be much higher. Well, I ended up getting my wish  to go camping, right here at home for five days with no power. Amazingly we survived it with humor, although I did almost lose it when I prepared some lovely shish kabobs with some chicken that I thought I'd kept cold enough in the freezer by stocking it with bags of ice. It didn't taste right, and the whole lot ended chucked in the garbage. Our losses were minimal compared to lots of other people. Since there was no power in town, we motored around to see the damages. We saw so many crunched cars and roofs. I’m not sure how many people in Fort Wayne are without power, but the city was caught flatfooted with the widespread destruction. Kroger's response was especially uncool. They closed all their stores,even the ones that still had power. Apparently protecting their inventory was more important than making sure people had access to food and ice. Which is just another good reason to step up the self sufficiency. I'm thinking a solar panel would be very handy. I've noticed  quite a few of the Amish farms have them on their roofs. It looks as though we could be in for some wild weather this year.  All I can say is I hope Fort Wayne replants some monster trees, even if I'm not here long enough to bask in their shade.