L I N C O L N   B L O G
 

Blog Update Notification: Things might be quiet around here for awhile until all of our last minute house decisions are finished. If you'd like to receive email notification when there is an update, send me an email with "notify" in the subject line and I'll add you to our notify list. Thanks!

5.31.04 — A day of remembrance
Today isn't just a long weekend holiday. It's a day to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Memorial Day doesn't validate war. That debate should be put on hold for today. Instead, we should share our feelings of pride, respect and honor for those that gave their all.

Here's a good place to start. It's a long read, but an important one.

5.30.04 — F4
It's been a week since the big storm, and I feel that it needs to be addressed. At first, I didn't know what to write. We are not used to such severe storms, and haven't been so close to such a devastating natural event. But after weathering an additional round of severe storms last night, it's time to get some thoughts up about last week's tornados.

Right before the storm hit we got a call from a friend telling us this was the kind of storm she had been waiting for us to experience. The lightning, the thunder, the hail—we were in for a doozy! So as we sat through this amazing event, we thought it was totally normal for the Midwest. We thought it was just an average thunderstorm. We had a coworker from Canada over for dinner, and watched the light show from the back window. After it was over we went to bed.

The next day we got up to watch the Formula One race and then headed off to Omaha to a car show. Little by little, as the day went on we heard snippets about the storm. It had been reported on the national news as one of the worst storms to hit this area in over 80 years. There was a lot of damage. So, on the way home we drove down near Firth where Norris High School had been hit. The high school is only 15 minutes from our house, but it took longer to get there because everyone was driving down to see it. There were a few houses that had been hit. You could see the path the tornado took by the trees that had been reduced to splinters. Still, just the school and a few houses. We still didn't really understand the devastation of what had happened until we got home and turned on the news.

Hallam was gone.

We haven't seen Hallam. The town is closed, and there is only one road in and out, and over the past few days, the road has been packed with residents trying to collect what is left of their lives, rescue workers, and volunteers. We've seen the pictures on television, and it is very hard to comprehend. The stories are also unreal. While we were innocently eating dinner and watching the lightning from our back window our neighbors' homes were being destroyed. We should have had the television on for warnings. We probably should have been in the basement. We were lucky.

Last night we had another round of severe storms, but very little damage. Some downed power lines and trees, mostly due to gusty winds. There were reports of some tornados, but nothing confirmed. We had the news on. We had a plan to go downstairs if necessary. We covered the car to protect it from baseball-sized hail. We know better now.

The friend who called us right before the storm told us later that this had not been an ordinary storm for Nebraska. In fact, she headed up a food collection at work for those affected by the storms. At Super Saver, you can "round up" your total and give the difference to help out. The community is responding in an amazing way. I can't put it in words better than this story told by a friend from work. He told us it was ok to share his words and pictures from his experience in Hallam.

Greetings gang,

We had some friends over for a movie Saturday night and when the movie was over, we saw the news on TV that Hallam was hit by a tornado minutes ago. My wife's father lives in Hallam, so the first knee-jerk reaction was to head down there and get him.

My wife said she heard on TV that the road was closed to all except rescue personnel, but my friend and I grabbed flashlights, a hat and headed out anyway.

The trip there was pretty exciting as my friend watched for any tail lights up ahead while I kept my eyes on the white lines on the road, as the rain and hail was coming down so hard that you couldn't see 3 feet in front of you. He looked at the dashboard and said I was doing 75 MPH right before we slowed down because there was a semi truck laying on its side in the median parallel to the highway.

We headed to Hallam when right about then the rain and wind came to a complete halt. A huge bolt of lightning struck in the sky just long enough to show a funnel cloud just to the north.

It kind of ticked me off that all the rescue people were all gathered on the main street and not going in to check out any houses yet, but we ran into the Norris Public Power guy as we got closer to his house who said that the protocol was to make sure no lines were still 'hot' before they could go in.

We got to my father-in-law's house (which was one of the few still standing), we tore down his back door and made it in. What a relief we had when we heard his reply "Yep" after we called out his name. His next reply was "Pretty windy here".

After going through the identification process with the Red Cross (what a great job they did keeping everything organized), we made it back home to my relieved wife right around 3:00 am.

In my book, family always come first.

I attached some photos that we shot yesterday when we started cleaning up that I thought you may enjoy.

Long story short...get your game-plan together in case a tornado ever strikes Lincoln. You hear things like 'Lincoln doesn't get hit by tornados because Lincoln in is a valley.' Sorry. I don't believe this for even a second. I think it's more a 'law of average' thing, so always be prepared.

Throughout my childhood, I always felt that I was robbed by not witnessing an actual tornado (growing up in Kansas and all), but after seeing the aftermath, I don't feel that way anymore.

I love you all like brothers and sisters, so get your game plan together...hope for the best but expect the worst.

A map of the tornado's path (pdf file) from the Lincoln Journal Star.

More pictures from the local community.

More pictures from the Lincoln Journal Star.

5.15.04 — The Lion of Punjab
I think we have now tried all four Indian restaurants in Lincoln, and T has declared Sher-E Punjab (Sher = Lion) the best. Although, to be fair, when I asked if it was better than the lamb madras we had at the Tandoor, he did say he might have to try that once more to compare. The flavorings are very authentic to the Punjabi region of India, where T's family is from. We had lamb vindaloo (not a northern Indian dish) and paneer in a creamy tomato sauce. And I finally had to admit that I like achar (mixed pickle), as I ate most of the mango and carrots.

The breads were normal sized and tasty, but the paratha came out with melted butter. Why do restaurants in the Midwest do this? I keep forgetting to ask for it without. There was a window to the kitchen right next to our table, and I kept standing up to watch the cook drop breads into the tandoor. Very cool!

The restaurant is up by the college, and we expected more students and less fuss. However, the dining room was nicely decorated, and the diners definitely not students. The menu prices might make it a bit out of a student's range, especially since it's next to a sub and pizza shop. Interestingly, T said Sher-E Punjab was almost better than House of India in Columbia, MD, our old stomping grounds. That's a tough one to beat!

5.14.04 — Extreme weather
The past week has been an interesting, but wide range, of beautiful weather. Over the weekend and early this week the warm weather was intoxicating. Warm breezes combined with brilliant sunsets convinced us on Tuesday to move date night up a few days and to go downtown for dinner. However, we couldn't handle the "breezes" like the rest of the natives, so we chose a window seat inside instead. It's hard to put into words how the expansiveness and the colored sky can make you feel tipsy. The closest comparison is watching a sunset bayside "down the ocean" (that's "at the beach" for those not from the Baltimore metro area). When you look out at the horizon, the colors seem to go on forever.

After a day of rain yesterday, we have a different kind of beautiful. It's 46 degrees today, clear and sunny. It feels like a crisp fall day—the kind where you feel compelled to do something scholastic like sharpen a bunch of new, yellow No. 2 pencils. We had a frost warning in most of the state last night, and far out in western NE I heard they got a little bit of snow. They (the natives) say you can see as much as a 40 degree temperature change within a 24 hour period out here in the Heartland. It definitely keeps things interesting.

Also interesting is the humidity here. Monday was a hot and humid day, but it didn't FEEL like what we're used to back east. When you step outside, there's no sensation of the hot oven blast or pea soup or wall of heat that you feel on the east coast. You don't feel moist, sapped of your energy or even suppressed. If the numbers are similar, there must be an X factor we haven't considered. Is it the wind? Do the breezes mask the oppressive feeling? Or is it the wide expanse of space? Maybe it's the lack of smog? There are no Capital Beltway or I-95 backups that contribute to Code Red days. No warnings to avoid exercising outside at rush hour or to avoid the outdoors if you have respiratory problems. When I mentioned Code Red days to the folks out here they looked at me puzzled and in disbelief.

Not much house news to report. This weekend is the Parade of Homes. For us, that means most of the work at our house has stopped so builders can finish last minute preparations for the homes in the parade. We've gone over the past few days to look at the same three half-painted walls. Maybe next week things will be back on schedule and we'll have more to report.

5.04.04 — When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore!
When you are totally slammed and have a ton of work to do, a list due to the painter before morning, and are so beat you can barely keep your eyes open, what should you do? Go take pictures of the moon! (This was taken at 9:30 pm CT.)

 

Last month's Blog.

 


click to see larger image

House Update
5.14 - Trim is finished, cabinets are stained, three walls have been painted. Driveway and walkway have been paved.
5.04 - We have brick and siding. Cabinet bases are in, trimwork is almost finished.
4.09 - We have drywall. Finishing tile, paint and carpet selections.
4.03 - Have shingles on the roof, a basement floor, plumbing, electricity and doors.
3.15 - Choosing countertops.
3.4 - We have windows.
2.29 - We have a roof.
2.26 - We have walls.
2.19 - Framing begins.
1.31 - Planning the kitchen.
1.22 - Foundation gets brick.
1.15 - Exteriors are ordered.
1.6 - We're waiting for power.
1.3 - Foundation is poured.
12.28 - Hole digging has begun.

Photo Albums
August 18, 2003
September 9, 2003
December 3, 2003

Notes about Lincoln
soda...pop
shopping bag...sack
restaurant check...ticket
7-digit phone numbers

Lincoln Weather

Nebraska Firsts

EMRlogic in the News

Archives
Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar| Apr

Keep in Touch
j k u n d h i [at] inebraska [dot] com