The Tornado and the Silver Cuff

This silver cuff was bought at an antique mall in the middle of Indiana during one of the worst tornado rampages in years (until now!).  This is a true story.

Five years ago, my mother and I drove from Kansas City to Lexington, Kentucky, on a road trip.  On the way home, we were driving on the highway happily listening to music when I finally observed, "You know, mom, I haven't seen another car for miles!"  Mom looked out the window and up at the sky.  "Those are twister clouds, that's why."

I ejected the CD and turned on the radio.  Sure enough, we were in the middle of a tornado warning.  Hundreds of tornadoes were being spotted throughout Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.  I pushed ahead and took the very next off ramp and lo and behold, a giant antique mall offered us sanctuary.

The place was empty, but open.  A surprised man welcomed us by saying, "The place is all yours, ladies.  If the siren goes off, I'll take you downstairs."  My mom and I looked at each other and grinned.  For the next two hours we filled up a shopping cart with presents for ourselves and everyone else on our Christmas lists.

"You know, darling," mom said as we got back into the car-- the skies now blue.  "I'll go shopping with you any day."