His mother's son for certain--his eyes lit up when he mentioned the flagship Half Price Bookstore in Dallas. "We can go before we head to Irving," he said, "It's only twenty minutes from their place."
I white-knuckled it through Dallas rush-hour traffic and the spitting rain that followed me from Austin. We made it before the deluge; there was an odd, far-off sound I attributed to a passing train as we hurried into the store.
We barely set foot inside when the store police officer calmly waved us back from the side aisles. "We're getting everyone to the lower level," he said. "Aren't we on the lower level?" I asked, noticing that there seemed to be only one floor.
Just then, an announcement over the PA invited everyone to the back of the store...to be led down into the basement.
That far-off sound? A tornado siren.
Around five dozen or so customers and employees filed behind a service desk into a warehouse-looking room. We were guided down two flights of stairs into another large space full of pallets, books, and decorations. "There is a conference room at the end of the ramp to the right," one employee told us. Sure enough, the wide ramp led to a small meeting space with stacked chairs and a few tables. We took two chairs for ourselves and sat along the wall, texting family and wondering how long we'd be waiting. The lights flickered, briefly illuminating everyone's face in the glow of their cellphones.
People were calmly chatting. A lucky few had books already in hand when we were corralled, so they sat and read. Another couple was playing "Heads Up" on their phones; a dad read to his toddler daughter.
If you're going to be trapped in a basement for awhile, a book-loving crowd isn't your worst option.
We were released just fifteen minutes later. My son and I wandered the aisles for almost an hour, trying to wait out the torrential downpour outside. It finally lightened up enough for a run to the car, no bags in hand for once.
I guess that makes it two firsts...
There was no tornado touchdown in Dallas...but as I was looking for shareable images for this post, I found out there was one by my daughter, in Irving. She didn't know!
What an experience! That far-off train you heard was the tornado, but I certainly wouldn't have thought of that. You are right, though, about a bookstore being the best place to have to hide out in during a weather emergency. And it's amazing that a tornao touched down near your daughter, and she didn't even know.
ReplyDeleteThere was a commuter train passing by, and I thought I was hearing the horn. But it was, indeed, the city's siren system! Now I know better...Daughter said she got the high wind and rain, but didn't hear any sirens or tornado sounds. Just glad she was okay!
DeleteOh my goodness, tornado season! It's a tad, dare I say comical, how everyone proceeded to read while they waited out the storm. Would I do the same? Good thing it didn't cause any damage. Your daughter, whoa. Reminds me of last year's tornado. My son was working the afternoon it went right over the music store, but got the HPB and Bank of America in the same shopping center. He thought it was just a thunderstorm. Crazy Texas weather.
ReplyDeleteI know, right? Kinda put a damper on the whole bookstore shopping trip. But I promised kiddo we'd be back; there's a lot to see in that store! It's about six times the size of any HPB I've ever been in!
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