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Shelter From the Storm January 23, 2012

Posted by Matt in family, personal stories.
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Tornado.

The word itself strikes fear into the heart of men, women, and children across the land. Feet get antsy, ears and eyes go on high alert, and people begin scurrying for protection at the first sound of danger, the blaring tornado siren or the soothing voice of Dave Brown, weatherman extraordinaire. This scourge of the south attacks with reckless abandon, its path of wanton destruction arbitrarily striking here and yon, with no regard for the victims.

Last night was another of those type nights. We knew the meteorological attack was coming, we knew that, if chosen, our chances for saving our worldly possessions were next to nothing and that perhaps even our lives may be in jeopardy.

I kept the television on as long as our satellite worked, watching the ominous red line move closer and closer to our home, listening to reports of the shattering of civilization, the unstoppable bombardment from above, the crushing power of an angry mother nature. Like people in war movies (and presumably in real war situations) crouched in their foxholes awaiting the inevitable firestorm from the skies, hardening themselves against the chance of death and injury, we sat with bated breath, wondering how the die of fate cast in the skies might fall for us.

The sirens finally went off and I walked upstairs, shook the children awake and moved them to the master bathroom downstairs, presumably the safest room in the house. The groggily went along, pushed by fear of the unknown.

The electricity went out and we sat together, the inner bathroom illuminated by a lone flashlight and I tried to placate their fears of what the night may hold, of the unstoppable power from the skies, the vortex of doom indiscriminately destroying towns and lives, leaving behind the wreckage of hopes and dreams.

Minutes later it was over. The sirens stopped and the exhausted children lay in our bed, refusing to troop back to their own rooms upstairs. I acquiesced, kissed them goodnight, and retreated to the living room couch. We made it.

P.S.
I tried to think of a good soundtrack for a tornado, but I could only come up with two good tornado songs: The Drive-By Truckers’ “Tornadoes,” and Neko Case’s “This Tornado Loves You.” What other tunes would you add to the playlist?

The End is Nigh! March 22, 2010

Posted by Matt in politics.
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The Future, as Seen Through the Eyes of a Tea Partier

Wind swept across the barren landscape for a few seconds, though it provided little reprieve from the oppressive and foreboding air of death engulfing the land. The skies were gray and bleak, with overcast clouds blocking out any visible rays of sunshine, enshrouding the citizens below with hopelessness. Mighty trees lay dead and rotting on the ground, while the lawns, once sparkling with a chemically-enhanced green, were now brown and shriveled reminders of the past.

I stood outside and looked intently down the street, wondering with great trepidation if they would soon be back. The death panels first took the old and infirmed, usually in the dead of night, mysteriously sweeping away any evidence of their existence with one devastating stroke and leaving behind only memories, remembrances now fading away as one day of hell gives way to the next. Now the reach of the panels has moved beyond the more helpless candidates, instead targeting anyone with a mindset differing from that of the government and leaving everyone ill at ease and wondering whether or not they might be next.

It all began with health care reform. Once the ball started rolling down the slippery slope of governmental control, it could not be stopped. Soon they forcibly took our guns and inefficient cars, leaving us unarmed and astride bicycles as our churches burnt to the ground and our children were indoctrinated with gay Nazi Communism. Every private business failed and communities turned into ghost towns where commerce was impossible due to the tax rate of 95%. In ‘O’merica (yes, even the name of the country has been changed) the Constitution has been destroyed, replaced by Karl Marx’s “The Communist Manifesto,” the Koran, and the various books written by the president, now known as the Grand Emperor.

And March 22, 2010, marked the beginning of the end.

The Hand That Threatens Doom January 14, 2010

Posted by Matt in random.
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According to scientists with the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences, we are slowly inching away from the apocalypse. The four horses are bridled and ready, but their riders have kicked back in their easy chairs for a bit longer, content not to bring their ride of destruction to the face of the earth just yet.

But, why have this short burst of optimism? Why should we put down our signs proclaiming “The End is Near?”

Well, the BAS has moved the hand of the Doomsday clock back 1 minute, from 5 to 6, meaning that the catastrophic end of the world has been averted, at least in the short term. The last time the Doomsday clock was moved was in January 2007, when it went forward by two minutes, from 7 to 5. According to the group, the dangers that may trigger the end of the world include the 27,000 nulear weapons currently in the world (2,000 of which are ready to launch within minutes) and the destruction of habitat due to climate change.

You can breathe easy, at least for now. Our imminent destruction is not quite at hand. Unless of course terrorists develop a Death Star (That’s no moon!) or a Vogon Constructor Fleet decides they need to build a bypass.

So, happy 11:54.

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