Tornados and Meat Products

 25 June 2024

1119

R. Linda:

When we had the pandemic and everyone flocked to the markets and bought out every food item, we found ourselves buying food-to-table products from local farmers. Yes, it was expensive but when there are not enough food items on the market shelves you have little choice if you want to eat. The food from the farms was excellent and we ate more healthily than we ever had.

Things did return to normal, with the only run on food items being when a nor'easter was coming our way. Then everybody makes a bread and milk run and if it is a hurricane, meat and meat, and more meat! 

On Sunday the entire state was under a tornado warning, yes, something new. Everyone found this hard to believe. Yes, this tiny state has had a couple in the past, microbursts and such. But nothing like the midwest is subject to and a few straight-line wind bursts that flatten trees, nothing catastrophic.

So the wife who always errs on the side of caution, suggested I run to the local market and pick up supplies of food, "Just in case." Mam was somewhat terrified, she'd never lived where there were tornados and this was a scary idea that she just might now live or not, through one. I ran to the market and there was nothing, I mean nothing on the shelves, so remembering the process during the pandemic, I stopped at the local farm stand near me home. I was amazed at the amount of meats offered, and I wasn't so sure any of them would go over well at home.

Here look at this:

Seems when meat supplies are down roadkill works

I don't know where the mongoose came from, but I picked up 2 lbs. mystery meat eyes and all. Yup, I did. When I got home I told the ladies of the shortage at the supermarket, but that I was able to procure for them 2 lbs. of ground beef. Yes, I lied. I was able to take the eyes out and dump those in the bin. I threw the plastic wrapper away and put cello wrap over the mystery fare and with a magic marker I wrote, 2 Lbs. Ground. And left it at that. 

Around 2 p.m. the sky had turned dark, there was a slight breeze, but no rain or lightning or even thunder. Mam had the local news station on and there was our weatherman from Denver doing the Colorado weather that he told us was really New Hampshire weather, but we know better. 

As it happened, Sean was over in Goffstown visiting a friend who had bought a piece of land and had a trailer on it as he waited for the builder to come and create his "dream home." Denver weather said, "If you are in a trailer you need to find shelter elsewhere." The tornado was gearing up, there was a black shelf cloud over Goffstown with a funnel forming. We could see it on the telly, so I rang up Sean and he said he knew, and he and his friend were at a house next door and ready to head for the basement if things got worse. He said there was a high wind and the lightning was fierce, but they were for the moment ok, except they were surrounded by trees.

I told Mam and Tonya all that and as we were talking the funnel dissipated upwards, but the warning was still in effect. Sean texted that everything outside was returning to calm, the breeze had died down and the thunder stopped. The storm was heading to Manchester. 

Oh no,  O'Hare was in Manchester visiting the museum. Right away Tonya was on the phone ringing our eldest. He was in the basement with a bunch of smelly people said he in whispered tones. They were all anxious but they were in the basement, which also was smelly musty and not his cup of tea. Add to that someone's service dog was down there with them and it was whining and making everyone nervous. He said they were all blaming climate change and that Bernie Sanders wasn't crazy when he said climate change was a "huge" threat 8 years ago. 

"They are all down here saying they should have voted for Bernie. Good times down here in the cellar," he added. "Never in my life did I think I'd be huddling in a basement because of a possible tornado near me." 

"The cloud (with what is trying to turn into a funnel) is 7 minutes away from you," Tonya told him.

"That really doesn't help, Ma. We could see the cloud when we were upstairs. The dog is sending my anxiety through the roof right now."

"Well, the funnel looks like it isn't forming and the cloud seems to be moving past you now. It is moving fast they think to the coast." Then turning to me she said, "Do you remember the tornados we had back when we first moved up here? Me either." She laughed at my shaking head. 

So as Tonya is talking to O'Hare and trying to calm him down, Denver weather is yammering on when HIS phone alert goes off, which threw him for a loop. Then the city sirens started to go off (did I mention the studio is in Manchester?) and his eyes got real big. He looks at the camera and says, "We at the studio don't have a basement or many walls between us and the tornado activity. We will stay on air and see what happens." Oh good. That was encouraging -- not! 

"Yes, an jus' wat I wanna see on live telly, " Mam said looking worried. 

I had been watching the live stream of the black shelf as it travelled over Manchester and thought the funnel was completely gone and the thing was lifting a bit. It didn't look as threatening as it had. Meanwhile, Denver weather's eyes were very big in his head as he kept chattering about tornados and the damage they do. The other weather person cut him off and said the tornado was dissolving but it could regain strength at any time, so the watches were still in effect for the coastal communities, because that's where it was, it had left Manchester rather quickly. 

Tonya had given the all-clear to O'Hare and Mam out of nervous energy was in the kitchen getting dinner prepared. 

"Watz dis?" She asked seeing no label on the meat. 

"It be from the farm store, no labels." I lied. 

Anyway, everyone got home safe and sound and no worse for wear for a frightening afternoon. As to dinner, everyone seemed to enjoy the festival of flavours they savoured except for yours truly who had a pop tart instead. The excuse was, I was feeling a bit off from such an exciting afternoon. Uh-huh.

Gabe

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