“I Was in It, Dad!” New Era, Feb. 1975, 46
I Was in It, Dad!
It started just about like any other spring day in Louisville, Kentucky. Thinking back now, it did seem just a bit warmer, perhaps more humid than usual. Philip Matthews, a 15-year-old teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood, felt that his hair was getting just a little bit too long. As he looked in the mirror he decided to visit the barber shop several blocks away.
His father asked if he would like a ride, and the two of them headed from their home to the barber. Phil sat back in his seat and relaxed, looking sleepily out of the window.
Suddenly he was wide awake. Doing his best to point the direction, he asked excitedly, “What’s that in the sky, Dad?” Brother Matthews, not able to see exactly what his son was pointing at, asked, “What?”
Then as Phil pointed excitedly, Brother Matthews saw it. It was a big mass of clouds. They were boiling and circling. It looked like a huge diesel engine with smoke pouring out of its pipe. Brother Matthews’ face turned white as he shouted, “It’s a tornado!” and he stopped the car suddenly.
The tornado crushed two houses and came right toward their car. Phil leaped out and shouted, “Hit the ditch!” But finding no ditch, he “decided my only hope was to run across the nearby schoolyard and enter the school building for protection.”
He doesn’t know how fast he was running, but as he crossed the yard, the wind nearly lifted him from the ground. “I just knew I had to reach the school.” Phil is a distance runner for his school, and perhaps his record-breaking running ability helped him get there in time.
As he approached the school, trees were falling and houses being smashed. Finally he made it to the building and tried to pull the doors outward, but they were locked. Now Phil knew that he must face the wind without protection. He doesn’t remember a time in his life when he was more frightened than he was as he stood in the terrible wind alone. Holding tightly to the door handles to keep from being blown away, he saw debris, shingles, and bricks spinning in the air about him. Small particles struck him in the face.
“I knew I needed special help. I know that the Lord heard my prayer of panic. As I stood there my mind centered on prayer. I asked the Lord to help me. Then it was like a miracle. When I prayed there seemed to come a great calm.”
A nearby tree crashed just missing him as it fell. The school to which he had come was demolished, only the area of the building where he stood went undamaged. The wind calmed somewhat, and Phil began to fear for his father. He ran back to the car, which was now in the churchyard.
“I was sure the car had been blown there,” Phil reported. “When I saw Dad get out of the car, I knew that he was all right. Then I just sort of went into shock. Dad came toward me, and as he got close I could see tears in his eyes as he looked at me. I sort of fell into his arms and we embraced. I repeated over and over ‘I was in it, Dad. I was out in it, Dad.’ Then we both looked around at the destruction that was around us. The chapel roof had been blown off and was behind our car.”
The terrible monster wind had taken its toll, but Phil and his father were spared. The two made their way home, taking detours to avoid fallen trees. They were greatly relieved when they found that the only damage to their home was two blown-off shingles. They entered the home and once again were reunited with their family.
There would be another day for a haircut.
Illustrated by Howard Post