PureInsight | April 9, 2006
It's spring in my part of the world, and that means awakening
occasionally to the sounds of spring storms. On March 12, 2006, it was
rainy, windy, hailing, and thundering with much intensity. There were
also two usual noises among the typical storm sounds. Magical chimes
seemed to be playing in among the wind gusts. As I listened I
realized the winds were so strong it was probably making the emergency
sirens sound like twinkling intermittent chimes. These sirens
announce to our community that a dangerous storm is approaching that
requires taking shelter and cover. Up against my house two edges
of a new Falun Dafa banner had come loose and were flapping. Just
a few days ago, I thought it a shame to have several newly made parade
banners just sitting in a corner and not telling the world about Falun
Dafa. So, I hung one of them on the house and front porch rail, so my
community could read it as they drove on the highway next to my house.
Then the rhythmic beating of the banner against my house and porch rail
stopped as the banner was pulled free from the porch. At that
moment I jumped out of bed and hurriedly got my clothes on. Due
to the force of the winds, I imagined the banner by now was across town
and no were to be found. So, I slowed down while I was getting my shoes
and coat on. When I opened the door I was surprised to discover that
the banner was still in sight. It had blown across the street to
a mowed field. It was bright, shiny and calm while everything
else was in great turmoil. Five dust devils (swirls of wind) of
different sizes were kicking up sand and dirt into the air in the
street and field. The rain had stopped, but the winds to the
north were again so loud it sounded like a giant freight train passing
by. It was deafening.
For a moment I wonder about the wisdom of going outside, but I did not
want to lose the banner. Out the door I went and down the steps in a
run. The winds stopped howling for a few minutes and the chime
sounds were indeed replaced by the sound of the emergency warning
sirens. When I realized the banner was not moving I stopped
running. It was lying with the center folded over and the ends
flat out on the ground. Nothing was holding it down. The banner
was not caught on anything, nor was it damaged. The banner
appeared to be just waiting for me! After I reached the banner I picked
it up and stood there looking around while I folded it up. Tears
ran down my face due to the sand and dirt in the air irritating my
eyes. I turned to go back to the house. The sky seemed to be
pressing down close to the ground with a grey lumpy blanket of clouds.
Everything started to be calm, yet it appeared as if the storm was
hovering over my house and small community. When I got back inside the
house the storm started up again for a few more minutes.
Later the news reported that a large area of straight line winds from
70 to 90 mph caused by a severe thunderstorm microburst had damaged the
university town eight miles west from my community. Over six
million dollars worth of damage to the university alone was reported.
The edge of the storm path appeared to follow the highway that runs
from the university town and past my house. The farm buildings along
this highway and north of the highway were damaged. Debris was
everywhere until it reached the edge of town where my house is. No
damage was reported in my community. All of the practitioners
living in the university town were okay and experienced no to minimal
damage to their homes due to the storm.
