Through the storm (Home Assignment 2023 Nebraska)

When I was young I remember a film my dad showed. It was a movie film, a super eight, perhaps, but he had taken it with a film camera and showed it to us with a film projector. You know, the kind that you used to see in school with two reels of film whirring as the light flickered the pictures out onto a blank wall or a roll-up screen. My dad made movies of several things when we were young. 

This one showed a back yard, the area and some big clouds as the cameraman moved around and panned the area. Dad explained that this was taken in the eye of a hurricane - the moment where one finds oneself in the calm of the storm, the middle of the hurricane enclosed by the whirling, blowing, swirling winds all around. I guess we experienced this when I was still quite young. 

As we drove down to Omaha from Minnesota we enjoyed the typical midwest scenery of rolling hills, farms with silos and interesting looking tractors on the roads. We stopped in Sioux City to get a picture with a house of friends we will not be able to see in Texas because they are moving to Iowa - but not until we passed by and before we get to Texas. So we will not see them. But we got to see their new house before they did. 

The radio told us that there were some storm brewing in the area, but we got in to Omaha under clear skies and dropped in to Shirley’s sister, Mary. The next few days were spent enjoying family time, trying to get some health appointments and doing our best to see if we could get together with other parts of the family. Shirley has one sister and two brothers still living. Her eldest brother was undergoing surgery on his neck, so we weren’t able to meet with him. 

And one of our major concerns was to see how we could help Mary. And although it ended up being a very long day for her, we were able to get her to the hospital for some tests. This made clear that the worst fears were unfounded and also gave some idea on how to progress in treatment. In the meantime, we were spoiled by Mary and Junior at their home with food and snacks galore and especially good time together. 

Later in the week we drove out to Valley, Nebraska, west of Omaha, where Shirley’s brother, Roger, lives. A Dairy Queen at the crossroads is about the only thing out that way, so we took time there to enjoy a good talk and a chocolate mint sundae made with an almost evil green sauce poured over chocolate soft-serve ice cream. We left as more news of tornadoes sounded over the radio, but we got back into town without any problems. 

That evening we were able to attend The Lion King, put on by our great-niece and her elementary school. She was Pumba and did an amazing job singing (Hakuna Mattata). As we left the school we noted the rainbow sitting atop one of the buildings in downtown Omaha, letting us know that the storm, for that day, had passed. 

The day before we left the storm finally hit, but not in the city. Our nephew and his family went out and took pictures, reminding me of the movie my dad had made. Thankfully they, as we so many years ago, made it through the storm. 

One morning I was went early to a local park and threw the discs I had been able to pack with me. On Wednesday we said our goodbyes and drove off in our borrowed chariot (thanks again Mark and Angela) to head on to our next stop in Iowa. As we drove the radio once again let us know that tornadoes were in the area, but that is the next story. You can see our pictures from this stop here.