We had a standing appointment with the local Tri Kappa chapter to paint a piece during their benefit auction today. We woke up, showed up at the Purdue Memorial Union (PMU) ballroom, painted, mingled, and ate some lunch. Zach gave an impromptu speech about the importance of TAF's Mural Initiative program, and then we left because we had to go home and get our tickets for the Yo-yo Ma concert at 3pm.
Before we left the house, Zach mentioned something about the bad weather headed our way. Tornadoes are uncommon this time of the year but true enough, sirens were wailing our whole drive back to the PMU. When we got on campus, we were herded into the basement and within seconds, the power went out.
The basement was filled with students and concert-goers. It was dark, crowded, and stuffy, and for a brief moment, I thought Zach was going to freak out (Zach's innate sense of survival is a bit touchy in these situations so I always have to be prepared for him to explode!). At least half the crowd had their phones out and turned on so there were tiny flickers of light everywhere. Students were offering the elderly chairs and assistance. We tried our best to find a safe spot. The tornado and storms tore through the area pretty quickly and within a half hour of being in the basement, we were instructed to make our way upstairs. We stood around for another 30 minutes or so before we were told the concert was postponed. Zach took my hands and we sprinted to the garage. I was eager to head home to check on the cat, and Zach was hopeful he'd get to catch some of the Bears game!
I'm grateful we averted disaster. Guess we'll just have to catch Yo-yo Ma and Kathryn Stott another day!
p.s. The Midwest tornadoes affected people in five different states (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky). If you'd like to help, please check out the American Red Cross page here.
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