Where I was when the Derecho Hit Iowa.

Here's the thing about our Derecho last week. First of all -- I HAVE NEVER BEFORE HEARD THAT WORD. It's a straight-line wind storm, exceeding 80 mph...(110 in our area)....that comes with a lot of rain...almost no lightening or thunder...just a terrible, sustained fierce, killer wind that can pull 150 year old oak trees right out of the ground.  UNBELIEVABLE.

My friend Deanna told me about a "straight-line-wind storm" that happened last year in Northern Wisconsin -- which destroyed millions of trees and devastated their forests.  At the time, she said nobody heard about it because there are very few people living in that area....but I don't think she used the word "Derecho".

This word is completely new to me...but I'll never forget the day I learned it...  

The thing is -- EVERYBODY WHO EXPERIENCED IT will, for the rest of their lives, be able to tell you exactly where they were the moment it happened.

There are only two event, in my lifetime, that rise to that magnitude of instant memory-recall. The first is the assassination of President Kennedy...I was in 7th Grade Civics class.  And the second is the September 11th terrorist attacks...I was folding laundry in my living room...watching the Today show.

Monday, August 10 started out as a beautiful, summer morning. We had basically no notice.My cleaning lady came, and Carrie and I worked in the basement. I was looking forward to having a porch party on Tuesday...and the house looked great. I did laundry, and hung my favorite sheets out on the line.

Then, I went to the YMCA pool....still TRYING to get back on some kind of better exercise schedule...

As I was driving to town (a 25 minute drive) -- John called and said there was a storm coming our way.

We hear this a lot in Iowa. Our weathermen LOVE to predict storms...and they are wrong as often as they are right. So, I did what everybody else did. I just went about my business...

But -- after 15 minutes in the pool -- the sky got very, very dark. Okay. That was weird...So, I got out of the pool and went out to my car. I had a package in the back seat I wanted to mail (Rhonda Pierce's birthday was Thursday)...so I drove a short 2 blocks to the Post Office.

The rain was coming down hard at that point -- but -- hey -- I was already wet... So I parked my car and took the package inside. Looking back, I remember having some trouble opening my car door...but I really didn't think much of it at that point.

When I came out, John was calling me again to say DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE HOME...trees are falling up in the woods...branches are hitting the house, and he was afraid our roof would blow off.  The wind is blowing so hard, semi-trucks are being blown over, electrical lines are down across roads...STAY PUT...

So, I sat in that parking lot for about 10 minutes -- and then there was a giant WHOOSH...and the car bounced...I looked in my rear view mirror -- my window was filled with green leaves...and it seemed my car had been hit by a falling tree.

A 20' tall ornamental maple tree (from a big row of beautiful trees, right along the street) -- HAD FALLEN RIGHT BEHIND MY CAR. But the car had not been hit...and the wind was still fiercely blowing...I realized I was not in a safe place...

I had to finagle my way OUT of my parking spot...and tried to take this picture as I drove OUT of the Post Office parking lot...

However, there were branches and trees across the road...and I knew I SHOULD NOT BE DRIVING. The emergency sirens were going off...and there were very few cars on the road..

After about 6 blocks...I saw the new Kwik-Star...with NO TREES...and I decided to park on the side of that building...which would protect me from the wind.

When I got there, the manager was trying to lock the doors.  The store was without power, and their team was following company protocol...to close the store, lock the doors and send their employees to an inside safe area, with no windows.  Lucky for me -- the manager couldn't find the key to lock the doors (they are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year)...

I must have looked a fright...soaking wet...and scared out of my mind. I think I said, "...a tree almost fell on my car, I live in Princeton, I can't drive home and I really have to use the bathroom..."

She said, "come on in -- but once I let you in -- I can't let you out until it's safe..."

NO PROBLEM...

I HAD LANDED IN A SAFE PLACE...AND WAS QUITE HAPPY TO STAY PUT UNTIL THEY KICKED ME OUT....

So, that's how I ended up HERE. Spending the next hour sitting in a bathroom -- with the Kwik-Star team.

So -- that's MY STORY. And I will always remember exactly where I was, and what I was doing at the moment the 2020 Derecho blew through Iowa...

It was all over in less than an hour.  Cedar Rapids, Iowa was hardest hit -- and they are still without electricity or cell phone service...Every town around me -- Clinton, Camanche, Eldridge, Bettendorf, Davenport -- took devastating hits.   Our power company, Mid-America -- does a wonderful job.  They are prepared for any kind of natural disaster -- and their response is always prompt and well-organized.  But they have never seen anything like this...and the outages were so widespread -- downed power lines, millions of trees -- some 3' in diameter -- just blown over by their root ball...

Their recording said, "We appreciate the importance of the service we provide.  But the devastation to our power grid is vast and unprecedented.  Our crews are working 24 hours a day to restore service, and we have called in every available outside contractor...If you have a live wire down in your area, please report it to this emergency number..."

And there was NO estimate of when they would be able to restore power.

We got lucky.  We got power back after five days...AND I SWEAR, FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE -- I WILL NEVER TAKE ELECTRICITY FOR GRANTED...