A time to snap a picture

Posted at 6:23 PM on June 13, 2008 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)

You look out the window of your northeast Iowa home and see what -- unmistakably -- is a tornado heading for your kitchen. Do you (a) Head for cover or (b) Run to get the digital camera?

This is a picture making the rounds today. It is, of course, spectacular. You can read all about Lori Mehmen's newfound fame in the Mitchell County Press.

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Comments (4)

Wow!!

With the grandeur and fury of this coming at me, a person knows they should do (a) but how could they help but do (b)?

10 years ago things would be different, then my kids were minors and their protection was foremost, I would have herded them to the basement, but now with empty nest, I would head for the SLR.

Age has its prerogatives.

Posted by GregS | June 14, 2008 5:20 AM

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My brother's farm is a mile and three-quarters south of Orchard. He says there was remarkably little damage done by this twister, altho the caveat would be that most homes in Orchard need a coat of paint, so cosmetic damage wouldn't really stand out.

Thanks to this picture, I think everyone in town knows just how lucky they were. How often are we blessed to live in ignorance because no one sees these events or realizes how close they came to disaster?

Posted by Mark Gisleson | June 14, 2008 9:17 AM

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As long as the media publishes photos like these -- there will be people snapping photos like these.

It’s better to be in the basement wishing you were outside taking pictures rather than outside taking pictures wishing you were in the basement.

Posted by G-Man | June 15, 2008 5:21 AM

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That photo leaves me speechless. I would have run for cover.

Posted by Tyler Suter | June 16, 2008 8:41 PM

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