memorial highway...

they didn't name US281 the memorial highway for nothing...i don't think i will ever forget this day...it's december- and thunderstorms are not usual this time of year...especially those that produce tornadoes...

growing up in clay county you learn to detect the signs of bad weather...wall clouds, green tint to the sky, rain stopping and starting aggressively, hail- all are signs that could foster bad weather conditions...as i turned on to the memorial highway outside of jacksboro, i decided to call home to see if i was missing something because ALL of the aforementioned conditions were present...

as i call my mom assures me that it is just a "watch" and that the threat level was not elevated...(i feel like freakin fox news right now)...not ten minutes down the road i came around a corner and beheld the end of a wall cloud over the road...the rain was pounding and i couldn't see five feet in front of me...

i know- stop the car you say- but in my precious mind getting past that wall cloud was the only motivator...memorial highway is a 2 laner and wouldn't you know a semi was headed my direction...i was trying to watch the wall cloud, see the rain, and not get blown on the other side of the road only to be flattened by an 18 wheeler...about that time, in the five feet i COULD see, the bottom of the funnel cloud was right in front of me whirling- debris and leaves were allowing me to see the circular bottom and it reached the width of the semi (on the other side of the road) all the way to the ditch on my right...before i could do anything else, i drove right through the bottom of the funnel cloud...

as i came out on the other side, i was driven to the side of the road but with no danger...the jeep still kept on a driving...i couldn't even look back to see what happened because i was in MAJOR freak out mode...as quickly as i could i hit call back to my mom and as she answered, i said, "i just ^%$#ing drove through a tornado!"...she calmly replied, "yes monica, it is a warning now and they have confirmed a touch down 10 miles north of mineral wells..." just as my mom said this, i saw the sign to the right that read "mineral wells 11mi"...

i screamed back at her many things, but most of all i was concerned that this might be it...who could imagine their time to go on memorial highway? she turned up the tv so i could listen to it over the phone as i was sobbing and praying to make it 11 mi more...there is nothing but fields and two lanes on this road...the ditch is not even deep enough to cower in...

with my body shaking in spasms and still crying vehemently, i talked to my mom until i reached the town were celebrities of old used to come and spend their vacations for the healing springs...i drove through a tornado...my jeep is stellar...i never want to do anything remotely close to that ever again in my life...

about two hours down the road, i decided to call a few people...only to tell them how very much i love them...i figured that if i would have died today, there were a few people that i wanted to know explicitly how much they mean to me...and they wouldn't have known...

it was crazy the rest of the trip...a few more traumatic times, but no twisters...one was enough...tornadoes in december? this definitely is a tale to tell about one afternoon in december on memorial highway...