Stormy Weather

Back in the day:  Making a mad dash to the cellar, Dad and the weight opening and holding the door open while everyone makes their way down the cement steps by previously lit lamp light and flash light, blankets over their head and children underneath, the smell of the lamp and the musty odor filling our nostrils. Sitting in a chair, on a bench, in a grown-ups lap or on the cement steps. A quick look around for snakes hoping none are found. The men outside looking back to the west only coming “down” if it gets bad to hold the rope. Coal oil “kerosene” lamp throwing various shadows on the walls and ceiling as the flame from the wick licks the inside of the globe darkening the glass chimney and a spot above it on the ceiling. Ax and crowbar stand in the corner ready “just in case”. Granddaddy long legs slowly making their way across the shadowed ceiling looking like something out of a fiction movie when their shadows are magnified by the lamp. Rapping on the door, don’t sound like hail…..it’s someone else seeking refuge. Drips appear in various spots on the ceiling, some running down the walls, others taking their sweet time to finally get enough courage to let go and drop to their fate on the dirt floor, shuffle chairs around to avoid them. Talk turns to the canned fruits and vegetables in the various Mason and Ball jars occupying shelving from top to bottom on one end of the cellar……beets, poke salad, corn, tomatoes, black berries and peaches for cobblers, apples for pies, green beans with new potatoes, jellies, jams, and more. Everyone notices the quiet, Dad and the rest of the men make their way out and give the all clear.  Coming out as your head clears the cellar, you notice the coolness of the air.  There is the smell of freshness, it smells good. New oak stems with leaves attached litter the yard. A lot of raking to do tomorrow.

Today:  Sit around the living room watching the weather on the tv, if the sirens sound you peek out the window or go out on the porch to look around.  If it starts to get nasty you just take a few steps and your inside the safe room and when (not “if” because we have OG&E) the electric goes off you turn on the Coleman battery powered lantern (with a couple kerosen lamps as back ups). You sit in realitive comfort on the couch, futon or recliner with various choices of reading material from magazines, Louis Lamour’, Christian books, photo albums ect. There are no canned goods, but there is a gun vault and shelves of hunting, fishing and trapping memorbilia. I will have to admit it’s nice not having to dodge rain, hail and tree limbs and I like the comfort, peace of mind and security our safe room provides, but it is lacking in character compared to the cellar of my youth.