missing oklahoma weather

Because there's an American among them, my students and coworkers are tuned in to news about the States. This week, they came to me concerned about the tornado in Picher, OK. This time last year, that would have meant nothing to them, but now when they hear "America," and more specifically "Oklahoma," they think of me. They were baffled when I told them we learn about tornado safety at school. Get in the bathtub? Why on earth would you do that?! So I took advantage of their curiosity, grabbed the McDonald's Rick Mitchell McReady tray liners that Bill & Susan sent me, created a vocabulary sheet of weather and taught the 3ème about severe storm precautions. As luck may have it, natural disasters are a part of the program! I explained that when I was a student at OU, my French neighbors didn't know what to do when tornado season hit, so I was preparing them now for their future trip to the States. Green skies, wall clouds, flying debris, hail and rotation. Funnel cloud, basement, closet or shelter. Now that I think about it, I may have scared them out of coming.

While I'm happy to be away from Rick, Gary, David and Mike and their often frightening weather forecasts, as I sit at my computer I hear a faint rumbling of thunder beyond the hills that surround my little trou perdu. I can count on one hand the times I've heard that sound this year. And each time, I'm reminded of how much I love opening the windows on an Oklahoma night, tucking into my bed and listening to the rain and thunder. It's when I sleep the best.