This column represents the thoughts and opinions of Jason Hennington. This is NOT the opinion of the Taylor Press.
Last week, tornadoes whipped through Central Texas, including Williamson County. Residents in Granger, Round Rock and Jarrell were hit hard by the tornadoes. According to a map from the National Weather Service, one tornado started in Round Rock, came through a part of Hutto and hit a piece of Taylor, then moved into Granger and destroyed some property.
This was a disastrous event that, thankfully, did not have any casualties. At least no confirmed deaths from Williamson County.
However, I have seen posts about people who have lost homes, vehicles and personal property due to the twisters. In addition to that, I have seen people reaching out to help those in need who are recovering from the storms.
While the storm was happening, my journalistic instincts were trying to get me out and about once the tornadoes slowed down and moved away from the area. My goal would have been to try and talk to people, get information about the damage and to see how others could help.
My fatherly instincts took over and were more focused on making sure my family was safe from harm. My wife and I had no problem mentally and physically preparing to get into a safe part of the house in case the disaster hit. As for my children, they were grappling in their own ways with what was happening.
Jasmine heard the word tornado and immediately got concerned. She also grabbed her tablet and favorite stuffed animal on her way to the closet, which was the safest place in the house. She never let on that she was scared, but she made sure we knew she wanted to be safe.
Tiana didn’t really understand what was occurring. She asked more questions than normal trying to find out why we were in the closet with the dog. She knew something bad was happening but didn’t know exactly what.
They both stayed pretty calm, though. After the storm was over, I expected to have extra visitors in my bed, but I didn’t. They both slept through the night with no problem.
During our time in the closet, I was getting text messages and still working on getting information out about the storm and where it was headed. I have to commend my senior reporter Fernando Castro, Granite Media Partners Executive Editor Thomas Edwards and the owner, Daniel Philhower, for their work in getting information and photos and posting it online. While one sent pictures, one found info, one wrote the story and I posted it online.
We really clicked as a team to get the information out to the community, which is what we do as journalists. So, although my story of the storm was keeping children calm, I was also working with a great team to find and provide the story of the storm.
I’m going to get off my soapbox now and go watch the elite eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
“It takes a real storm in the average person’s life to make him realize how much worrying he has done over the squalls.”
—Bruce Barton
