We also had two vehicles totaled that were parked in our driveway, as several huge limbs dropped out of trees in our front yard. I have pictures somewhere of our big white van with the roof caved in and almost every window smashed out. We were picking glass out of our driveway and lawn for months after. The two houses directly behind ours lost every tree in their yards; 6 or 8 trees, if I remember.
No damage to our house, though. We were very lucky. I actually stood out in the pool room during all that wind, trying to watch what was happening in the dark. I still can't believe I was that stupid, that I didn't have my family huddled down in the basement where we would be safer. I stood there, listening to the tremendous "thud" sound as enormous oak trees went down, one after another. We walked around our neighborhood the next morning, and it looked like the pictures you see on TV after a tornado had touched down. Tornadoes were soon ruled out, though. Our storms were described as "straight-line windstorms". But just as potent.
These condominiums in Spring Lake were toppled by the winds and later had to be torn down completely and rebuilt. I remember driving through this area a few days after the storms and thinking that it looked like a giant had stomped its way through here, leaving wreckage in its path.The craziest thing was that it happened again in November of the same year. That time, we lost our power for eight days. And being November and being cold, it was much more miserable. That storm was great for our business, though, an auto body shop. November 1998 was a record month for us.
So now when I hear the wind howling and watch the trees bending and swaying beyond what seems possible, all those memories and fears come back to me. I'm afraid to go outside. I keep my eye on the skies at all times during daylight and don't sleep much during the night. I worry about my kids being at school. And I pray that it will stop. Very, very soon.
