Shelter from the storm....

The tornadoes, and the threat of more, have subsided.
I walked through wind and rain, at times a lot of each, today. Wind so strong, under sunny skies, that my cart was being steered by that unseen but forceful hand. I had to seek shelter for a few minutes in a town called Purdy, which was purdy boring (sorry), but the rain ceased and the sun came out, just like it had never rained. Such is the weather here in the edge of the plains, only miles and a couple of days from Kansas. In fact, it was so flat here that it seemed like I was getting a sneak peak at what awaits me for the next two or more weeks…flat, sunny big skies, and windy as hell.
And I loved it. Even the rain, for which I was prepared with my new rain suit from Walmart. It blew sideways, cold and stinging, and it felt cleansing and good. Every step I take towards Joplin, and the devastation there, is just that, a step. I only have Joplin on my mind because I know that it is going to affect me, as it should. People need to see things like that to remind them that we are not in charge here—mother nature is. Its not something that Ive heard religious people even blame on God, because what kind of benevolent being would rain down terror from the skies so randomly, destroying innocent lives, tearing the babies from their mothers’ grasps and leaving whole towns and neighborhoods full of good people empty and ravaged? Mother Nature is a bitch when she is angry….
There is not a lot to say about it. Ill keep walking and taking pictures of pretty horses and flowers and sunsets or sunrises. At least I am lucky enough to be able to enjoy those things and to share them with you. So, please, if you can bear it, when the time comes and I show you pictures of devastation, look at them, absorb what you see, and then put it in the back of your minds. Then call, or turn to, or wrote to the person who means the most to you, and tell them how happy you are that they are alive and well and that the tornadoes didnt take them away.
And stay tuned. More horses and flowers and blue skies are ahead.