I am a resident of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, but own a home in Bucks County, in Lumberville, on River Road. The area is known for its tranquil surroundings, abundant charm and easy lifestyle.
It is a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city ... or so I believed, until a tornado arrived.
I had been away a large part of the summer and I made a special trip to Bucks County on Thursday, July 29, to check on the house and pick up some things I needed for an upcoming trip. I dropped my dog, Carmen, off with my friend Donna, and planned to pick her up on my way back home. Donna likes to walk with Carmen along the towpath, and she planned to take a long, leisurely walk that afternoon.
What a beautiful day it was for a walk, I thought.
After finishing my tasks, I called Donna to say I would pick Carmen up and head back home. Donna mentioned the possibility of some rain and thunderstorms later but I was getting an early start and didn’t think that would be a problem.
As I drove to Donna’s, the sky was getting dark and some intermittent rain began to fall but nothing looked serious. I got Carmen, and we were off, heading back to Chestnut Hill. It had started to get dark out and some light rain was falling steadily when I left Donna’s and within minutes I started getting emergency notices and beeps on my phone – beep beep beep – tornado warning – tornado warning in your area. Seek shelter immediately. Seek shelter?
I was on a country road, with trees and farms on each side – probably just another overblown weather prediction I thought.
Beep beep beep went the phone. Emergency emergency – Tornado warming in your area. Now, the sky was darkening and Carmen was panting heavily but she sometimes does that before a storm – animals can often feel the difference in barometric pressure long before we do and especially with storms.
As the sky continued to darken, my phone beeped with more emergency warnings and the kind of beeps that make you jump. Tornado warning, tornado warning, the screen proclaimed. Seek shelter, locate in a building without windows, away from trees and preferably below ground. A hard thing to do anywhere, let alone in Bucks County.
I thought I should turn around and go back to Lumberville. I was closer to Lumberville than Philadelphia.
Debra Malinics is a writer and owner of Debra Malinics Advisors, a Philadelphia advertising agency.
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