Greetings from Bloomington, Indiana, site of the NCAA Regional meet. We just got back from a nice dinner at a local Applebee’s. The locals are very friendly.
As the waitress handed us our check, she asked if we were from around here. We said no. Well, she said, you all better be careful out there. Tornadoes are touching down everywhere, she noted matter-of-factly. Allllll righty then! We are not in Poughkeepsie anymore.
That’s for sure.
Upon arriving at the nice Holiday Inn at the edge of town, we received this alarming note on bright yellow paper. Here’s the gist of it: “It is tornado season in Indiana and we at the Holiday Inn would like to ensure that you are best prepared for all situations. If we are under a tornado warning and/or you hear the tornado siren, SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. Crouch down along the wall and protect your head from the possible debris.”
Earlier in the evening, while Will was stretching after his pre-meet jog, I decided to check out the track facilities at IU. It started to pour. Then, I heard what sounded like air-raid sirens throughout the IU campus. Tornado warning!
At the coaches’ meeting at Assembly Hall – the same Assembly Hall where the legendary Bob Knight roamed the basketball sidelines with his famous scowl – we were informed of another tornado warning and told to stay put, because this was the designated meet tornado shelter.
If this all seems a bit unsettling … well, it is.
I do not mean to make light of the situation, because this is very serious. Folks across the south and Midwest have been devastated by severe weather that has featured endless spring rains, tornadoes and other assorted bad stuff.
So anyway, I will continue to post from out here in the coming days. But please excuse me now while I go hide in the bathtub.
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