Community Theatre of Emporia

Letters From Longmont

Posted on May 24th, 2008 by Playwright.
Categories: Asides.

Hi everyone!

Yes, I’m alive, despite the tornado invasion that landed in the county next door. Weld County had an amazing seven tornadoes touch down, including the one that hit Windsor and made national news.

So when you’re a reporter and there’s dangerous weather in your area, what do you do? You chase after it, of course!

My own tornado story … and we have several on the site … can be found at:
http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=8893 .
Among other things, we caught up with such wonders as:

• A truck driver whose semi got caught by the tornado, while he was driving. He came out with only a few scratches.
• A cow that got blown over two lanes of highway to land unharmed a quarter-mile away.
• A tornado victim whose car had the front license plate “TOTO.”

… and much, much more, including collapsed barns, shredded roofs and all the other wonderful things that Kansans know so well. One colleague of mine found a Dacono family where a family’s ancestral home (very small and very old) had been ripped away and thrown to glory, while the current house next to it was nearly undamaged … as was an outhouse on the other side.

By the time I got to Windsor, the worst spots had been sealed off by authorities. But even the “light damage” I saw was pretty heavy. If you’ve seen the TV images, you don’t need my descriptions here. It wasn’t Greensburg, but it was bad enough.

Nothing hit Longmont, although we thought we were going to have one touch down just south of town. Still too close for comfort, though.

Meanwhile, I am making plans to re-enter the theatrical world! In mid-July, the Longmont Theatre Company will hold auditions for “Noises Off.” After talking with my editor, I think we can juggle the schedule enough to let me try it. Stagedust is a hard addiction to beat, you know.

Hope all is well and that ‘the winds of change’ remain a metaphor in Emporia.

Theatrically yours,

Scott Rochat

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