I’m old enough to remember significant events that occurred fifty years ago: the tornado that destroyed a part of Fargo being a case in point. Today marks its 50th anniversary. That day from my vantage point fifty miles away, I stood in our farmyard and saw that godawful mound of clouds stacking up and stalling over Fargo. Weather reports at that time never warned of the immediacy of impending storms, and only after the carnage occurred did news begin to trickle out through media outlets.
With that I’m reminded of the tornado that snaked along a rural road near Walcott and destroyed a few lives and several farmsteads. That time, too, I saw those low, churning clouds passing overhead and listening to that rumbling freight train sound.
Natural disasters cut everyone down to size. Our world of cell phones pressed to ears, laptop computers, or any other highly technological gadgets can’t undo or control Mother Nature’s intentions. Floods, hurricanes, mud slides, blizzards, droughts, hail, etc. come and go in a steady progression. Occasionally a religious fanatic selling salvation on his television show says God’s wrath for sinful behavior brings on these events. I’ve never forgotten one voice of reason made by a sensible churchman. The Rev. Schuller of Crystal Cathedral fame was interviewed by Larry King at the time when some California homes were being destroyed in mud slides after heavy rains. When asked if God was responsible for causing the mud to slide, he responded, "I think they built in a place they shouldn’t have." With much of New Orleans built below sea level and expensive vacation homes lining the hurricane-prone Atlantic coastline, I can’t help but think of his words.
