Editor’s Note: I wrote today’s blog before the news came about the horrible tornados in Oklahoma today - near Moore, OK. My thoughts and prayers go out today for all those affected by the storm.
In the midst of all the birthday/graduation activities over the weekend, we had quite a bit of rain.
What’s new, right?
The rain actually passed through East Tennessee as a part of a fairly nasty line of storms that set off the weather radio a couple of times. Roger doesn’t like when the radio starts blaring its “Leh-leh-leh-leh-leh…’ tone. This usually disrupts his usual routine when he just chills out in the living room on a few cool, comfortable pieces of the newspaper.
In general, Roger doesn’t like storms.
Over the weekend, we heard him do the strangest thing when the storms would flare up. With each boom, he’d start growling at the storm – almost as if to try to ward off an approaching predator. Ironically, Roger’s growling sounded like rumbles of thunder.
After a few growls, he disappeared to the basement where he usually rides out most storms – tucked into the dark depths behind the furnace…
Honestly, I have never heard a cat do that.
I suppose it’s not unusual, at all, for animals to be bothered by storms. What IS unusual about Roger’s affliction is that I can point to the exact moment it developed. Like many East Tennesseans, he was profoundly affected by the tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011.
I don’t normally get too excited about severe weather but that night was different. And when the meteorologists coupled phrases like ‘take cover’ with geographic descriptions of places less than a mile from here, I paid attention. We took cover twice that night.
The first time we went downstairs, we took Roger with us. I think he was perplexed as to why a mother, a father, a son, a blanket, a pillow, a flashlight and a cat were all going to that small place at the bottom of our stairs. But, within a few minutes, when the hail began falling with furious force, I think he knew. Lisa and I are both quite sure that he sized up the fact we were trying to take care of him that night.
Once, he went through the cat door into the garage to seek shelter behind the furnace but the sound of the hail pounding the garage door with tremendous force sent him scurrying back inside in no time at all. Eventually, he got under the blanket with the rest of us.
After the storm passed, we all went upstairs to see the front yard filled with hail and leaves that had been stripped from the trees.
Before long, however, when wave #2 came, we were back at the bottom of the stairs.
Since that night more than two years ago, Roger has displayed a deep fear of thunderstorms. When they approach, he retreats.
And now, lets the storms know what he thinks of them – in no uncertain terms.
JG
(Source: weather.com)
Originally posted 5/20/2013
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