mythoughtsexactly's Blog

I live off of West Florida Street, in Greensboro, NC  (right beside the Coliseum) we had brief rain, a pause and then torrents of heavy rain intermittent with pea sized hail definitely not worth the rating of penny sized hail.  I wasn't able to get any pictures of the actual storm, but I did get a picture of this rainbow that managed to form once  the hail and stopped

It started in 1991 (the first grade),  you know when they first start teaching you about weather, it was Thursday (yes I remember) and that was Tornado day.  I remember the teacher showing this video that was supposed to be purely educational, but instead it changed my life forever as it showed Tornadoes destroying homes and lives.  I excused myself and ran to the bathroom and waited for the movie to be over, and that was the start of a phobia that I just can't kick.

Over the years, I will become "obsessed" with the weather; Van Denton and the Weather Channel were (are still) my best friends. If severe weather is on the horizon I immediately ask what Van had to say.  This phobia of mine is so bad that I will watch a storm system "intensify" in Oklahoma and as it when through Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee carving a path of destruction. I would cry about it in anticipation of it arriving here even though it wasn't here yet.  In times of bad weather I knew I could count of Fox8 to give me the truth and let me know exactly what's going on with feisty severe cells.

Which brings me to this blog.  I am not sure whether or not to be proud of this, or sad that I could just say what something was or is.  But because I've been watching the weather for so long... I know when a cold snap is going to hit,  I can look at the sky and tell what direction a front is moving it, I can tell what clouds are threatening, smell rain and I can look at the radar and can tell the intensity of a storm without formal training.

On the night of the tornado, I was away at school, panicking as usual because the storm was coming, when it passed, I had spoken with my mother and she was telling me that cars and trucks had been turned on top of each other, and several trees were knocked down.  I thought about it for a second and I told my mother "it sounds like an EF-2, but I'd have to see the damage to be sure."  The next day I found out that it was in fact an EF-2.

Should I be happy that I knew it was an EF-2 or sad that years of being addicted or rather entirely terrified of severe weather... has conditioned me to be able to tell the difference and to know.  For now I guess i'll just be happy that I have the knowledge that I do, I probably should have went to school for meteorology and all of this would make more sense. nonetheless thanks for reading...

I just have to say that the whole thing about closing school frightens me. I do however, commend the judge for taking action towards the betterment of our schools but I believe their conditions should be a factor. Speaking from experience I went to Ben L. Smith Senior HS and I don't believe it belongs on the judges list. Smith was and is an absolutely beautiful and wonderful school which inside prepared us for the social and working world. Smith High School is the international high school and I don't regret that I went there. After I graduated I went to UNC and I believe Smith greatly prepared me for that challenge.

Also, I just want to say please take a look at the schools being targeted in this ruling. Most are "inner city" schools that cater to minority students. I am NOT saying this is race related, but I AM saying that these schools are suffering due to of LACK of funding and the continuing rotation of principals.

Take a look at the local Target on Battleground Avenue in Greensboro. Some of the proceeds go to local high schools and on average Smith had $430 and Dudley around $350. Whether or not this is a good example can be debated for the simple fact the other school parents mention it more often to donate/they have funds available to give. But it needs to be considered that economics is one of the issues. When it comes to principal rotation, during my four years at Smith I had 3 principals and recently (April) a fourth arrived. I think in order for the system to expect good things from the students they have to install a principal that is there long enough for the students to form a bond with. Someone they want to make proud. I do not think it is fair to say that these schools are failing in the system but I believe it is correct to say that the system is failing us.