Wednesday, September 22, 2010

"It was cool, but I don't wanna do it again"

I've kept this for over six years after seeing it in the Jacksonville Journal Courier back home, right in the middle of a great tornado season. And the story still gives me goosebumps.
Text: Bob Mulquin sips a beer while looking at his tornado-damaged shed recently in rural Franklin. Mr. Mulquin was hanging out in the shed with his cat, Tank, March 12 when the tornado hit. When one of the windows blew out, "Me and him (Tank) decided we were in trouble." He said he was picked up and thrown over the lawn mower, then thrown back across the room.

He grabbed onto a bench, but the shed had moved off its foundation and was pushing the bench. Then, "I got whacked with an aerosol can. Don't ever leave aerosol cans in front of a window. They were humming. I never knew an aerosol can could hit you that hard." Mr. Mulquin was knocked out and woke up with Tank tucked under his arm and his wife yelling out the door to see if he was OK.

"I woke up and smoked a cigarette," he said. One of the shed's walls had buckled, and the door rested on his truck's bumper. An adjacent silo was blown away. Mr. Mulquin was worried that he was going to lose his beloved shed—which is at least 67 years old—when he moved the truck, but it survived. "It was cool," he said, "but I don't wanna do it again."

6 comments:

kate said...

tank!

thegreatestshowonearth said...

stop it.

Filip Matous said...

What a gem! I want to be this guy in 35 years.

Topsy and Havoc said...

i met/worked with/hung out with/went to church with/etc. people and kitties just like bob and tank on a regular basis when i lived in virginia.

Gentzy said...

I just moved all aerosol cans away from windows. Thanks for this witness and warning.

Unknown said...

And it is stories like these that make me appreciate where I am from...for both entertainment purposes and life guidance/great advice...

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