One of the most important elements to good health is how you fuel your body. Let’s talk about how you can make sure the fuel you are using is the best it can be!
How often have we created a wonderful salad full of nature’s best ingredients – maybe fresh from the garden – only to douse it with a commercial brand of dressing – littered with chemicals, alphabet soup, sodium, sugar/high fructose corn syrup, and highly processed oils?
Well, sometimes we just stick with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, but don’t you yearn for creamy goodness occasionally?
I sure do, especially since salads have become a mainstay in my diet and lots of fresh tomatoes are just outside my back door.
Since visiting Midtown Olive Oil, located in our scenic historic downtown, I found their recipe for Creamy Vinaigrette to be the perfect match for my regular salads, and does not shoot down my efforts to eat as organically as possible.
Without further ado, let’s get to the recipe, which I have tweaked to the healthier side.
Put all ingredients into a blender bowl or bowl (if using an immersion blender). Pulse several times; scrape the sides of the container, and pulse some more until ingredients are well blended and there are no chunks left of the shallot. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator.
Pure, simple, and wholesome goodness to crown your salads.
In health-
Deidre
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Sometimes we need to be reminded that the vastness of our universe ‘way out there,’ is equaled to the vastness of the microscopic and submicroscopic universe inside of our bodies and in nature all around.
While rocket ships and electron microscopes are usually not available to most, I wonder if you have had the chance to observe the Milky Way unfettered by the glow of man-made illumination? That experience is on my bucket list – right next to seeing the Aurora Borealis.
One thing we all can do is take a free trip up close into the world of flowers. As close as you can get. Go ahead – grab the magnifying glass, I’ll wait.
Be it the tiniest flowering weed, an orchid, or a giant hibiscus, there’s lots to be appreciated.
Taking just a few minutes to really examine a flower can set you on a mini sight-seeing vacation.
It’s free.
No bags to pack.
Magnifying glass is optional but will double your wonder.
Watching the colorful flowers on my okra plants last year, as they morphed into ridged, fuzzy pods of okra, was a fascination that drew me in daily and reminded me of a butterfly coming out of its chrysalis – only in reverse. Flower becomes okra.
Gathering a fresh harvest of basil from the back porch herb garden, I was struck by the intricacy of the blooms that had formed on the purple basil stems. The closer I looked, the more amazed I became. Changing the angle of my observation increased the fascination and astonishment I felt at the intricacy and beauty of these tiny gems.
Photo: Carole Hart, New Bern, NC
The seed of a post about being mindful of the small beauties around us was planted – only to be watered and fertilized by a Facebook post of a dear photographer friend, Elaine Varley, of a sunflower bud. Wow! With Elaine’s permission, I am sharing her photograph.
As you seek a few moments of calm today, go on vacation. Visit a flower nearby. Look. Really look. Up close. Let the patterns reveal themselves to you. Discover intricacies you hadn’t noticed before. Be prepared to be amazed.
Photo: Elaine Varley, New Bern, NC
Take those moments of splendor to color your day, your approach to others, to a difficult situation, or to share with another.
Enjoy your vacation-
Deidre
More of Elaine’s photography can be seen here: www.elainevarley.zenfolio.com. Our elusive share button is back, so please share this article with someone who would appreciate some inspiration.
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*whisper*
Hey … Hey … You … Down here….
From the editor: (With half of head of hair left): If the SHARE button still doesn’t work – it’s proving to be cantankerous – send all complaints to the boss, deidre@toolkitsforhealth.com.
Don’t worry, I’ll be the first one to hear about it. But I will be in hiding. Shhhhhh!
At last, we are getting out to restaurants again – a chance to reconnect and to enjoy food not cooked by us. See if this a familiar scenario: You are going to meet up with a couple friends with whom you have not socialized since early last year.
For weeks prior to getting vaccinated and going mask less.
However, you had started a campaign to get rid of those pounds that had crept around your waist in the last 18 months.
You’re thinking you might have a salad with grilled meat on top when one of your friends chimes in with, “Man, it’s so good getting back out again with you guys! Let’s go whole hog and celebrate! First round is on me AND there will be dessert! Yay!”
You look to your other friend who was considering the salad menu as well but puts it down declaring, “You’re right! This is going to make up for over a year of deprivation! I hear their lasagna is to die for, and the breadbasket is bottomless!”
You probably know how this meal will go. Who are you to diminish the party by drinking water, saying no to the alcohol, lasagna, bread, AND the dessert?
It’s human nature. Apparently, we cannot shake that primordial instinct to exist more safely in a group. That desire to belong, to be in the safety of numbers, and looking to others for a consensus is played out every day.
Even if it is to our detriment.
Being swayed by the input of others is often called “norm matching.” It can govern not only what you choose to eat, but when you pick up your fork (when someone else does) and even matching your consumption to others.
I was reintroduced to this concept in terms of food choices in the Noom cour, I have spoken about. [This link will get you 2 weeks free on Noom and a 20% discount. I will receive monetary thanks from Noom if you use it.]
As I did a little research about norm matching, the link to Solomon Asch’s famous conformity experiment from the 1950s quickly popped up. Look at the image of the two cards below:
The assignment is to choose either A, B, or C, to be the match for the line on the card to the left. There were many sets of cards needing matches such as this one in his experiment.
Not rocket science.
Only 1% of those being studied chose incorrectly when their answers were given silently and anonymously. Open the floor to discussion, introduce some clearly incorrect responses by some planted actors, and 75% of the people being studied went along with the false consensus at various times during the study.
All in the name of conformity.
Which begs the question. Who’s driving your bus?
As I was researching today, a recent conversation with a friend popped into my mind. My friend was concerned about a family member who is following the lead of a circle of friends who believe that being vaccinated against Covid is unnecessary because Covid is not real.
Sigh.
Whether the choice is lasagna vs. grilled chicken salad or getting vaccinated or not, do your due diligence at your research of valid, verifiable, science. Look at your resource; check credentials; get input from a variety of sources.
Order you meal first. Maybe you can lead the crowd by saying that you’re celebrating getting together by honoring your body with a healthy choice.
My concern – more than food choice, however – is whether the person at the next table to you – who has delayed getting vaccinated – will get Covid from you and require hospitalization.
For more information about the Covid vaccine, check out this helpful WEBSITE.
In the words of Fiona Robertson in Norm Matching (fionarobertson.com): “You can’t change the way human brains are wired, but if you understand them, you can work with them instead of against them.”
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They were five little words – well, they contain two contractions, but I’m not splitting hairs.
Five words that have inspired me since discovering them.
Five words that have motivated me to be better.
Five words that are helping me push several tasks to completion.
“Enough!”
“Give me the @#%& five words!”
Hold on to your hat, pilgrim, I’m getting there. Just a minute.
These words were wrapped around a small square of goodness called Dove dark chocolate.
I’ve emphasized the important benefits of dark chocolate over the years – namely an abundance of all the good things: trace minerals, and antioxidants such as polyphenols, flavanols, and catechins. All-in-all, these compounds in dark chocolate have been studied showing that they can help with our cholesterol profile, lower heart disease risk, and help with brain function.
Of course, eating the entire bag of Dove dark chocolate squares would be counterproductive. Moderation in all things. Remember my personal mantra: “It’s so good, you only need one!”
Anyway, these little treasures are individually wrapped in foil which makes for a neat, clean, conveyance of just the right amount of tasty satisfaction – contrary to Hershey Kisses which are a bit too small to quench that chocolate urge.
Printed on the inside of each wrapper is a clever saying that assists the consumer with a contemplative thought to savor while that square of bliss melts in the mouth.
You might see messages such as” “You’ve got this,” “Cherish each moment,” “Be fearlessly authentic,” “Share a smile,” or “Study a flower.”
The maxim that has recently inspired me so much is a play on words we often shared with our children: “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right,” or “Be your best in all you do,” – all in our best parental efforts to inspire them to put their best into every task.
These five words embodied those thoughts and maybe more:
“Don’t stop until you’re proud.”
By Lauren N. Colorado
Not proud and boastful, but proud as in pleased at a good job well done. Proud because the deed has your name on it, and it more than passes muster.
Are you slogging through a long project? Or maybe a short project required more than the usual effort?
Any advancements on my commitment to daily exercise were shot down with that sprained ankle I sustained early last month. Standing and any kind of locomotion were problematic, at best. It’s still a bit swollen, but I can at least walk without a limp now – although zingers in that foot bother me each night.
My successful weight loss project was simply treading water while I recovered. I totally lost my mojo and was struggling to balance my new eating patterns with the proper exercise to stay in shape and lose the last five pounds.
Then, into my hands plops this inspiring message: “Don’t stop until you’re proud.”
So, each day, steps were taken; ankle was iced and elevated, and more steps taken. I reconnected with my plank buddy, and we are texting a thumbs up emojis for every minute of plank we do. In the beginning, my planks were half planks done from the knee to elbow, but they were done.
Finally, I can walk without pain, tennis shoes can be worn, and full planks are being accomplished. I also discovered the effectiveness of doing at least a minute each of straight arm/full body plank, followed by elbow/full body plank, followed by elbow-to-knee/half plank.
Like the little engine that could, I’m getting there to tighter abs with each minute of effort. Four minutes total today. I am just starting to feel a teeny bit like I’m on the right track again.
Hang in there.
Don’t stop until you’re proud.
In health-
Deidre
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Remember the story of the little Dutch boy who stops a dam from cracking and flooding the town by plugging the hole with his finger until adults could come to the scene to affect a more permanent solution? Legend has it that he stood there all night before more help could be obtained.
Judging from just the cursory view last week of what is an autoimmune disease and how it might happen, we could conclude that our dam has more than one hole. In fact, we are running out of fingers to plug all the holes.
Where are the holes? Look to the millions of us with autoimmune diseases and see if there is a common experiential thread…
In the residual chemicals found in our food from growth practices
In the chemicals added to our highly processed Western diet which is also high in sugar, fat, and salt
In the consumption of food that is pro-inflammatory
In the polluted air we breathe
In the chemical exposures we subject ourselves to in cleaning products, toiletries, and cosmetics
In the chemicals we use in our yards and gardens
In the stress hormones of the feedlot animals we eat
In the chemical transfers of packaging, storing, and cooking food in plastic products
In stress
Eventually – in the air, as we breathe nano dust particles of plastic which do not decompose but just degrade into smaller and smaller pieces
Clearly, there is no one answer, but taken as a whole, it is easy to see that the world we have created is not the world our genes were built to withstand.
As promised, I want to bring up just one facet of how genetically susceptible people might be opening the door to the lurking wolf on the outside. And I believe that there are more of us genetically susceptible than we may realize.
Dr. Alessio Fasano
Let me introduce you to Alessio Fasano who is a world-renown physician and researcher. He holds numerous positions both in Boston and in Italy. To read his biography HERE: Alessio Fasano – Wikipedia is to be awe inspired and grateful for all the lives he and his teams are helping.
In 2000, Dr. Fasano discovered a protein in the lining of our small intestines called zonulin. The lining of the small intestine is just one cell thick. Touch your tongue to the side of your cheek – that’s the same sheet of cells that extends from our mouth all the way through our digestive system to the very end.
Thin, yes, but strong and resilient to keeping our insides in and the outsides out. Each cell is connected to its neighbor by what’s called a tight junction.
Better be tight. Lots of stuff in the pipeline. Don’t want random particles of food or toxins punching through to the other side without first being properly broken down and absorbed by the blood stream and taken through several filters.
Turns out zonulin is a moderator of sorts for what can get through this layer of cells. An uptick of zonulin will cause these tight junctions to open wide, allowing large, foreign/non-self materials to flow through to the gut tissue and eventually be absorbed unfiltered by the blood stream and land anywhere in the body.
Because these large particles are foreign, our body will wage an attack.
According to Dr. Fasano, “When the zonulin pathway is deregulated in genetically susceptible individuals, autoimmune disorders can occur.” Check out this list of autoimmune diseases to see if you can find what has been plaguing you and if you might be genetically susceptible: Autoimmune Disease List • AARDA
This brings us full circle. Remember those questions I posed for us to ponder a couple weeks ago?
Can you see a DON’T TOUCH – WET PAINT sign and not touch the surface it’s indicating?
If you know a certain food will cause an immediate harmful reaction in your body, will you eat it anyway?
Is there a habit you have or a food you eat that will most likely cause problems for you down the road, but you justify continuing it by saying, “I’ll stop when it starts to bother me”?
It might be time to check out some anti-inflammatory practices found in my book, Toolkit for Wellness, to see if you could be more proactive in controlling your health destiny.
I am doing this for myself as well, as I continue my experiment of eliminating my beloved grits and oatmeal.
Since following my Noom way of eating starting this February, grits and oatmeal have become a staple in my morning. Simultaneously, my hips and knees have been complaining. This is not the first time I’ve experienced this potential cause and effect.
Knowing that many aches and pains are self-induced, I’m accepting responsibility by eliminating a couple foods I love to see if the picture improves. Who wants to bet that grits and oatmeal are inflammatory to me?
Time and abstinence from delish menu items will tell the story.
You had me at, “What is an autoimmune disease explained in 5 minutes.” If you have 5 minutes, it’s worth absorbing Gabriel Arruda’s easy to understand explanation – because an understanding of how our natural immunity works is needed before plunging into the deep waters of autoimmunity.
Yes, I thoroughly covered how inflammatory foods and lifestyles can lead to autoimmunity in my first book, Toolkit for Wellness, but I wanted a fresh take.
A little animation helped, and I agreed with his basic approach, but not necessarily with his entire online program. Mr. Arruda presents one of the many ways autoimmunity can occur – I’ll share another one.
He took me back to my teaching days, using Pac Man as a symbol for white blood cells munching up the bad hombres floating around our bodies.
Autoimmunity is when your body’s natural defenses somehow get scrambled and are no longer able to correctly identify foreign threats; instead the attack on invaders is misdirected onto self. Thus auto/self-immunity.
As mentioned last week, I an offering this discussion because we are in the middle of an explosion of people suffering with autoimmune diseases.
One might ask, “What’s happening to cause this? Spontaneous worldwide meltdown of our internal defenses?”
Well, you be the judge.
Clearly, an appropriate immune response is an intricate cascade of events that enlists organs and organ systems throughout the body. What we’re throwing at our bodies in terms of stress and chemicals has changed considerably in the last 40-50 years. What hasn’t changed is our genetic make up to handle these new factors.
I’ve read more than I want about the autoimmune crisis and there are at least 10 tabs open on the computer right now. That said, this article revealed so much new information that I’d like to summarize some key points for you:
-Favorite direct quote: “As such, autoimmune diseases could be the product of our own success as an industrialized species. This vexes researchers, because autoimmunity is not only one of the most prevalent disease categories but also fiendishly complex, a tangle of factors that scientists have yet to fully understand.”
-Doctors cannot agree on what constitutes an autoimmune disease. Right now, there are about 100.
-Unlike diseases such as cancer, there is no national data base for autoimmune diseases and, thus, no shared research, no coordinated data – it’s pretty much each disease subset is on its own.
-The rate of autoimmune disease uptick is far outpacing our DNA/gene’s ability to change and be the cause for such a shift.
-The diversity of our gut’s microbiome is a key element to our overall health and appropriate immune response. It’s been discovered that under-developed countries have an exceptionally low incidence of autoimmune disease along with a well-diversified gut microbiome. Whereas developed countries have less diversified microbiomes and have a high incidence of autoimmune disease.
-Studies of adults in 2003 and in fetal cord blood in 2005 revealed the presence of man-made chemicals including industrial compounds, pollutants, insecticides, dioxins, and mercury. The fetal cord blood study showed 287 different chemicals that were transmitted to those babies prior to birth.
-Americans report ever greater levels of personal stress. Who hasn’t taken a stress hit this past year? One last quote for the day: “The stressed-out individuals were more likely to be diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, more likely to develop multiple autoimmune diseases, and tended to develop autoimmune diseases earlier in life.”
Whew! That’s just the sprinkles on top of the cake, dear readers.
What started out as a simple assignment – “get the bad guys” – has been muddled by so many factors that have made identifying, what is foreign and what is self, almost impossible.
Next week, we’ll look at another common factor that can stimulate another cause of autoimmunity: leaky gut.
Don’t know about you, but I’m headed outdoors to harvest some organic veggies, sit under an umbrella, and soak up the sounds of nature.
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Before I start my mini-series on autoimmune diseases, I want us each to consider our individual level of commitment to mindfully guiding our health outcomes.
Let me pose some questions.
Can you see a “DON’T TOUCH – WET PAINT” sign and not touch the surface it’s indicating?
If you know a certain food will cause an immediate harmful reaction in your body, will you eat it anyway?
Is there a habit you have that will most likely cause problems for you down the road, but you justify continuing it by saying, “I’ll stop when it starts to bother me?”
Why am I offering this discussion in the first place? Because we are in the middle of an explosion of people suffering with autoimmune diseases … in a way not seen before.
Judging from the descriptions of my friends on Facebook, their autoimmune-challenged lives are constant torture – filled with inexplicable bouts of painful, life-disturbing days when even just lying around can be a challenge.
Is our human race crashing and burning?
Rather than crumbling strands of DNA inside of us, it may be a case of having to be ever more knowledgeable, vigilant, and proactive about our internal and external environments
As readers know, I believe we are designed for health, not disease. Foodtalk4you investigates what we are using to fuel our engines, offers ideas on making changes based on knowledge and experience, and then explores what we can do to restore much of our lost health and vigor.
The world of autoimmune disease seems to be growing exponentially. The coming posts will not solve all your problems, but may open your eyes to possibilities.
In the world prior to this autoimmune explosion, life was simpler, food choices were fewer, and air was cleaner. We also had fewer cures, limited access to medicine, and little knowledge of how deadly many things were – smoking is one of them.
Let’s not go back. We are in the present, dealing with today’s world.
First, just consider what your commitment to your improved health might look like. Are you willing to wait until something hurts, or are you willing to be proactive now, so it won’t hurt later?
Think about it.
Deidre
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No, not the kind the TSA folks do. This is the hands-free kind we can do for ourselves – fully clothed before and after yoga, exercise, or a morning stretch routine.
We often assume the time spent in movement is working for us because … well … we did it. Maybe there are feelings of relaxation or invigoration, but who knows if your efforts were a benefit or not? There is a way to do a self-assessment that is easy to perform and will reveal just how your body is responding.
It’s called a body check, body survey, or body scan and involves a mindful, relaxed, and non-judgmental overview of how things are feeling to you.
You can google body scan meditation to find a variety of approaches that will take 15-25 minutes. These scans/surveys/checks can be useful to decrease anxiety, explore pain response, or enter a deeper meditative state.
What I have done recently is bracket a 20-minute movement routine, with a brief two-minute scan, designed to que me into my balance, posture, general positioning, and set me up for a mindful practice and a thoughtful release from the session.
Try this simple body scan before your next time of movement.
BODY SCAN 101
Move to a standing position. Place your feet a shoulder width apart; hands hanging freely at your side.
Just relax and stand comfortably with your eyes closed. There is no right or wrong way to do this.
Notice your feet. Do you have more pressure on one foot than the other? Are you feeling more pressure on the front part of your feet, or are you noticing more weight on the heels? Is there increased pressure on the outside or inside of your feet?
Notice your lower legs. Are the muscles relaxed or do they feel more tense?
Move your awareness to your knees. Are your knees slightly bent? Maybe they are pushed back? As you stand, is your weight evenly distributed on both knees?
Notice your hips and pelvis. Is your pelvis tilted forward creating a forward bow to your lower back? Maybe your pelvis is tucked toward your back, causing your tail bone to lower?
Notice your belly. Is it more toward your spine, or is it relaxed in a neutral position, or is it pushed out?
Consider your arms and shoulders. Are your shoulders more back and in alignment with your ears? Or perhaps your shoulders are more forward, and your upper back is more rounded? Are your shoulders at the same height, or maybe one is higher than the other? Are your arms hanging at your sides the same way, or is one different?
Notice your neck and head. Is your head centered and balanced, or is it tilted forward, back, or to the side? Are your head and neck in alignment with your shoulders or are they leaning more forward?
This constitutes a pre-check. Open your eyes and move into your yoga, Pilates, aerobics, nature walk, or other exercise.
Conclude your movement routine with another body scan. It may surprise you how differently your body is oriented and balanced.
This time, when you open your eyes, gently and naturally walk around your immediate area. How does it feel to move through the space? Is it different from prior to exercise?
I have found this simple practice to be so centering. A mindful bracketing of movements using this body scan will set you up for a more balanced approach to the rest of your day and will clue you into to how your body is responding to movement.
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Have I been anything but brutally honest with you? No, I can promise you, I haven’t.
This week is no different.
First, a big shout out to my dear friend and editor for foodtalk4you, Sheree Alderman, for pitching in on the writing side of things with her post, Life in the Stairwell. When she told me of her experiences during those scary hours leading up to, and during, the tornado, I immediately knew it was a story best shared in the first person.
Which was very timely for me, because I was seeing both of my adult children and grandchildren, simultaneously, for the first time in fifteen months! Fully vaccinated – except for the children, at this point – we shared hugs, laughter, delicious five-star restaurant-worthy home cooking, the warm spring weather, walks with two rambunctious and loving Goldendoodles, and happy family trips to nurseries for spring herbs and flowers.
In other words, a slice of heaven for this mother.
Just hearing my son and daughter, who are separated by 3 thousand miles of land plus an ocean, as they talked, laughed, and caught up with each other – made my heart sing.
Ten days of blissful memories carried me through being solo on Mother’s Day.
Still smiling here.
That brings me to EBS. Empty Brain Syndrome. Yup. I’m blaming EBS for my lack of fresh ideas. It’s a part of the umbrella diagnosis of PVS. Post Vacation Syndrome, which may be familiar to you.
PVS is now placed under the new diagnostic category of: First Time Getting Together with Vaccinated Family After Being Isolated in a Global Pandemic Syndrome. FTGTWVFABIIAGPS.
All I really want to do is sit outside, enjoy the sounds of nature, drink coffee/fuzzy water/wine, and just BE.
And prop up my sprained ankle with an ice compress – that’s another story, altogether – still savoring the happy feeling in my heart full of warm memories, while also planning on making more.
Hmmm.
This EBS/PVS/ FTGTWVFABIIAGPS is not such a bad thing after all.
There’s not a stressful thought, feeling, or twitch on the horizon.
When was the last time you could say that?
I think the dark night of my soul during February and March has passed. Nothing that a little sunshine, the safety of being vaccinated, and being around family again couldn’t cure.
Now, about that Empty Brain thingy…
Make sure to subscribe to foodtalk4you to easily receive next week’s post about some mindful exercise and body check-in techniques I learned about during vacation. The brain is beginning to percolate.
By now, most everyone has probably heard about the storms that ravaged the great state of Texas this past week. Of course, they’ve damaged more areas than that, but I currently live in North Fort Worth, which was particularly hit hard the other evening by some very unique, brutal waves of high winds, hail, and even a possible tornado.
When you live in Texas, you soon realize that this type of weather is not that unusual, especially in certain areas of the state, which match – and sometime kick off – angry thunderstorms that march straight into Arkansas, Louisiana, and sometimes bolt north into Oklahoma. All this can happen in a matter of hours; and – at times – without much warning.
On the morning of April 28th. The day started out normal, it was full of sunshine and pleasant temperatures, with no peculiar or alarming weather broadcasts for the day. However, I did see where the National Weather Service, NWS, was mentioned earlier we had a particularly good chance for an evening shower.
I went about my day and texted my daughter, Abby, to let her know she might want to keep in mind we could have a storm later on in the evening/ They are a family on the go, with three children – one being old enough to drive.
Truthfully, I don’t think anyone takes me seriously in these situations, but I trudge forward and hope for the best. After retiring from Emergency Services some years ago and having lived in an area where we got yearly hurricanes – and tornados from them, I did take it seriously, very seriously. I’ve seen what a powerful storm can do, and I keep a healthy respect for each and every one of them.
So, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, started out as any other day.
About 5:00 o’clock that evening, I was scouring the Internet for ideas beside the window of my apartment, when out of the corner of my eye, I notice a flash. I immediately knew it was lightning. As I looked more closely, the lightning started coming quicker and with more of it. Kind of like when the DJ kicks up the strobe lights on a fast tune that’s so loud, your spine vibrates.
They do still do that, right?
My apartment overlooks the courtyard and business office and is open for miles when you look straight out. Over the next 20 minutes or so, I watched this lightning start to evolve from what seemed to be miles across the street from me, to being within a mile or two, it seemed to get a lot closer a lot quicker – and the sky darker.
By this time, I was getting more concerned about this electrical storm they were now projecting. I kept checking my phone for the weather update when things went bad to worse. Going online two some of my favorite weather reporters, they were running constant radar on our location and, by 6:30 they were saying there was a super cell with tornadic activity in our area.
In fact, moments later, it had a slow rotation that was starting to pick up. I knew immediately that meant a tornado was forming, whether it would develop into a full-fledged tornado or not, remained to be seen. However, the lightning was off the charts. It, at times, looked like the lightning was striking four and five times within a second in the same area. This lightning was going right down to the ground. I could tell as it progressed, it was getting closer and closer to me.
Now the weatherman was starting to alert us that hail was on its way and I start to have tiny pellets of it hitting all my windows. He had an alarm in his voice you never want to hear, telling us to be prepared – we have rotation on the ground, very large hail coming your way, and get prepared to go to safety quick.
I could literally, see the storm forming in front of me with a lighter sky on the right, where it had pulled the dark clouds in, and on the left was gray. But in the very middle was this giant, angry, black ball of swirling hail and debris.
Within minutes, the weatherman was spitting out the tornado’s coordinates – and it exactly where my apartment was. Although, I have been thoroughly trained to handle situations such as this in my career, it is an entirely different issue when you are standing in your window, seeing this monster coming at you. Within seconds, what sounded like pebbles were now large rocks were hitting the windows – so hard – I thought they would surely break in a thousand pieces.
At the same time, the larger, what they now refer to as gorilla hail, started hitting my windows, the tornado sirens started screaming. It was upon us. As the tornado sirens swirled the alarms, the NWS loudly paged my phone, telling me to get to shelter – in a basement, a cellar, or somewhere safer than where I was – our storm had now upgraded to a tornado warning – meaning, they were seeing one in our area.
I just stood in the middle of my apartment terrified. What do I do? Where do I go? I hurried to my door which leads out into the interior of the building, then turned back to my windows, and repeated that behavior briefly. I finally decided I was risking my life to stay; but where I do I go? I just couldn’t believe this was happening.
As I finally stepped out of my apartment and into the corridor, I nearly ran for the stairwell. The sound of the hail and debris hitting everyone’s windows was deafening. You could not have had a conversation for a single person out in that hallway.
There’s only one place I could think of to go – the stairwell beside our building’s elevator. At least there are no windows there and I would be surrounded by cement blocks and iron.
I thought to myself, there is no way I am going to have any windows left when I get back here; but I hurried as much as I could, heading for the relief of the stairwell. At least there was less chance of this thing getting to me there.
You might think after me telling you all of this, there would not be much good news – but you are mistaken. As I reached the heavy door of the stairwell, I could hear voices. Many voices. I saw familiar, happy faces smiling at me as I stepped into a peaceful atmosphere.
There were neighbors from all three floors sitting inside with their dogs and cats – a lot of them chatting about a variety of topics. One person had an emergency radio, many had their cell phones and tracked the storm that way, some didn’t have anything to rely on but just trusted those around them.
The most touching part of the stairwell was the beauty of the genuine, deep concern for one another. If someone had a need, another would take care of it. They found chairs and blankets and water for each other. People would think of a neighbor that wasn’t there and volunteer to go get them so they would be safe.
Down in the stairwell, there were people of every color, every religion, every walk of life – and none of that mattered to anyone. People were praying out loud for our safety and the storm to pass. Some were singing praises. Periodically, someone would holler out where we were in the hot zone, right up until the time we had passed through it and were okay. I learned more that night than just where to find safety in a storm.
It was a beautiful place to be, and I thought of how heaven might be just like this. I remember sitting there at the top of the steps, looking about, and thinking, I wish the world could see all of us piled in this one little part of a stairwell – the room bursting from the gentleness of the human spirit – bonding us together always. My heart was filled from witnessing the kindness of others.
Some of us may have been complete strangers going in, but we sure were besties going out.
Never underestimate the storms of life that come to you, because they just could lead you to the stairwell and be a blessing in disguise. I know where I’m headed if another storm comes my way.
God bless us everyone.
Sheree Alderman,
Editor-at-large,
N. Fort Worth, TX
Over and out!
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