Stuck in Walmart Waiting Out a Tornado
By DE
@DaddyEvil (137145)
United States
March 9, 2017 6:28pm CST
Have you ever enjoyed the company of 75 strangers in the Photo Lab of a Walmart when a tornado goes past?
Let me tell you, it ain't fun!
My daughter just HAD to have some fruit, so off I went to Walmart! When I got there I could hear weather warnings screaming from every phone except mine. (I don't care what the weather is doing. I turned those alerts off!)
But Walmart sure seemed to care! 75 strangers, not including associates for that store, were all herded into the small Photo Lab in the back of the Super Center. (Standing room only! Except I climbed onto the counter and had a seat. I wasn't going to stand for who knew how long, packed like sardines in a tin!)
Personally, I had just gotten out of a shower. (Yes, I used soap and shampoo, as well as deodorant before I left home, thank you!) But after being forced into close proximity to this group of strangers, it was obvious many of them hadn't taken the time for a badly needed clean-up before leaving for their favorite shopping spot!
By the time the tornado bypassed that Super Center, I would have paid good money to have the tornado rip right through the center of that Photo Lab just to get me out of the funk from so many strange (and stinky) people!
As it was, I speed-walked to the produce department, grabbed the fruit Pretty ask for and high-tailed it out of that store!
42 people like this
44 responses
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
10 Mar 17
Yes, Anna, I actually ended up having two showers before I was done. When I got home it was pouring down.... I got soaked getting the groceries in from the car, then I needed a shower to warm up and scrub the stink off me!
7 people like this
@LadyDuck (458006)
• Switzerland
10 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil I understand you so well, I never feel clean enough when something like this happens.
7 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
11 Mar 17
@rebelann Yes, Ann, 
I'm afraid I do know how much you and your furmily would LOVE to fit me out with a neon green duct tape suit... suitably tamped down in so many places! 
I'm afraid I do know how much you and your furmily would LOVE to fit me out with a neon green duct tape suit... suitably tamped down in so many places! 3 people like this
@rebelann (111159)
• El Paso, Texas
11 Mar 17
Green @DaddyEvil ? I thought orange and yellow would be puurrrdier
3 people like this
@youless (112108)
• Guangzhou, China
10 Mar 17
This tornado is so horrible. I hope you stay well. It reminds me of a movie called The Mist. The people were also stuck there because of the monsters outside. Fortunately Walmart is a big supermarket and you can find many necessary things there.
4 people like this
@youless (112108)
• Guangzhou, China
10 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil In fact The Mist is a good movie, but I am afraid you will feel angry to its ending
As I really feel angry to it.
As I really feel angry to it.2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
11 Mar 17
@youless Hmmm... the movie didn't live up to all the hype about it? (It must not have if it made you angry... )
OH! I see why that might upset someone, youless!!! 
(I will NOT be watching that movie! I don't watch scary movies! They can give me nightmares! I have woken the neighbors before when I watched a scary movie!
)
Your words almost hooked me into watching it just to find out why it made you angry... In the end, I decided it would be better for me to READ about the movie ending! (Reading the scary ending doesn't give me nightmares, just watching them does that!)
You should really be ashamed of yourself for trying to entice me to watch that movie! 
(Almost, but not quite good enough, youless! 
)
OH! I see why that might upset someone, youless!!! (I will NOT be watching that movie! I don't watch scary movies! They can give me nightmares! I have woken the neighbors before when I watched a scary movie!)
Your words almost hooked me into watching it just to find out why it made you angry... In the end, I decided it would be better for me to READ about the movie ending! (Reading the scary ending doesn't give me nightmares, just watching them does that!)
You should really be ashamed of yourself for trying to entice me to watch that movie! (Almost, but not quite good enough, youless! )3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
10 Mar 17
Yes, tornadoes can be terrible, causing much destruction when they touch land, a building or vehicle. The one tonight didn't touch down, but passed over us, so we were safe.
I did get another shower, though, to get the smell off myself and out of my nose!
I remember when the movie The Mist came out. I never did watch it. Maybe I should watch it, now...
Thank you for the well wishes. I do appreciate that! 
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
10 Mar 17
I would have been most happy to have traded places with you, celticeagle! Heck, I would have paid you to take my place! (Yes, it was that bad!)
4 people like this
@vandana7 (98818)
• India
12 Mar 17
So where was your daughter all the while! How could you have left her alone at home..:( Yeah...that is tough..stuff...how long do these tornadoes last, and do you have a basement in your home to hide, and does your government compensate in someway? And did the tornado do any damage in your town? Glad to deduce you both are safe...
4 people like this
@suni51 (3429)
• India
14 Mar 17
@vanny Tornado can last for hours or for minutes according to their length but in most cases for few seconds to few minutes but never longer than one hour or so. I thought you knew about them as you live in a tornado prone area. We face them seldom but when they hit us they hit us really hard.
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
19 Mar 17
@vandana7 Pretty was safely at home, of course! You know she doesn't go outside during the daytime. I left her at home because I was going into the path of the tornado while she was safely tucked up in our house. We don't have a basement because we don't need a basement. Tornadoes skirt around our city, they never go through it!
Would the government compensate us for what? No, the tornadoes NEVER come inside the city limits. Yes, they damage farms and houses in the country around Aurora, but never inside the city limits.
We don't have earthquakes here, either! We are on a prominence in our area. There is bedrock holding us up and earthquakes have nothing to work with. We are also high enough that the worst of the weather goes around us, too.
From what you told Suny our city is much nicer to live in than your city, vanny! I posted a link somewhere here for DJ (but in celticeagle's box, I think) that give stats on my city, if you are interested in looking.
2 people like this
@Gina145 (3949)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
19 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil I certainly hope I don't. I think I'd have reacted a lot worse than you did.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
19 Mar 17
@Gina145 Thank you, Gina! Me, too!
I hope you never get to experience a tornado, let alone being crammed into a tight space with lots of other people... clean or not!
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (98818)
• India
15 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil .. I read somewhere that taking half tablet of vitamin c or including lime in diet does the trick of removing body odor...not sure...
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
19 Mar 17
@vandana7 No, it doesn't work like that, vanny. Pretty takes Vitamin C tablets during the winter. She still has body odor.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
15 Mar 17
Uhm... Suny? I do have a small admixture of Asian blood... I actually don't need to use deodorant, either... Saying something like that... just shows you missed one of my discussions. I believe it is one that is no longer extant on myLot, though! LMFAO!
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
10 Mar 17
lol, new website, Stinky People of Walmart
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
11 Mar 17
I already started a new site, Jess! It's called Dinosaurs of Walmart! I guess you haven't seen the pictures I took a few days ago, have you?
I'll give you a sample....2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
12 Mar 17
@Jessicalynnt Yes, I did! Here is another picture of the same kid.
The kid was playing. He wanted to scare his mom. (It worked, He really scared her! When she saw him, she screamed and ran out of Walmart, incidentally leaving without him! LMFAO!)
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
11 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil bwahahahahaha, you took that one?
2 people like this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
25 Mar 17
My one and only tornado experience was interesting enough, as I watched from my hotel window as every tonneau cover was sucked off the trucks parked outside an adjacent showroom...
That was when I heeded the warning displayed on the TV to move to the kitchenette area at the back of the hotel room, away from the windows.
The next morning, the short car journey I made of perhaps a couple dozen city blocks revealed twisted trees and corners chewed off the wooden houses that had stood in the path of a particularly narrow-focus twister the night before.
Yes, I was a real blow-hard virgin back then, I guess.
The next morning, the short car journey I made of perhaps a couple dozen city blocks revealed twisted trees and corners chewed off the wooden houses that had stood in the path of a particularly narrow-focus twister the night before.
Yes, I was a real blow-hard virgin back then, I guess.2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
25 Mar 17
Hmmm... I am afraid you lost me there, pgn. Either you are being hard on yourself for no real reason or I am totally missing the point of your comment. (You are welcome to pm me if I am just being really stupid, okay?)
Uhm... did you get a chance to read the story I told about Pretty and I talking about inviting a tornado to Worlds of Fun as our guest? LOL!
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
25 Mar 17
@pgntwo OH! So that's what you meant! (I still think you were being a tad hard on yourself, though, but at least I understand why, now.)
But when a person doesn't KNOW, it can seem like we are telling tall tales. After all, would you believe the story I told if you hadn't seen a tornado before? Heck, do you even believe the story I told even after seeing a tornado? LOL!
I told someone on here there is a reason I don't really tell some things that have happened to me in real life, because I can't PROVE they happened. (Honestly, it makes me a little mad when someone challenges me and I can't prove something happened just the way I tell it.... not their fault, either. It is mine for opening my mouth when I know it should stay closed. Your answer excluded, because I prefer honesty here, please.)
1 person likes this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
25 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil I hadn't a clue, basically. "Go to Minnesota", they said. They failed to tell me about those ferocious tornado things! 3 weeks later, I got back, in one piece, despite a 5-hour delay as they checked the aircraft I was scheduled to fly out on for any damage after it flew through a hailstorm on the inbound leg of its journey.
I loved the story about your travelling partner that dark night on the road to Kansas.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
10 Mar 17
Thanks, Judy! I did not have a good time there!
The tornadoes seem to always pass by my city. Unfortunately, Walmart is on the outskirts of the city, so it was too close to the high risk zone for anyone to be comfortable in the Photo Lab. The smell of fear didn't make the other odors smell any better!
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
11 Mar 17
"...somewhat unpleasant."? A bit on the low key side for what was happening that evening, paigea, but I will accept that. I can also agree tennis shoes do need to be de-contaminated (or burned!) once in a while!
I wish you had been at Walmart with me that evening! Some guy sat on the floor right below where I was sitting on the counter. His head was covered in big scabs. He had used some kind of hair spray (that's what it looked like, anyway) to paint his bald spots bright green, and a blue color in what little hair he did possess, making his scalp look putrefyingly like a two week old corpse and smell about the same... The tufts of bright blue hair were fashioned into two almost believable horns...
Many people were staring at the dude. I thought about getting his photo, but didn't want that picture on my phone! It was bad enough sitting where I had to see him, let alone carrying a photo of him around with me! Gross!
2 people like this
@ramapo17 (30441)
• Melbourne, Florida
15 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil EWE. What a pretty sight that must have been.
1 person likes this
@paigea (35678)
• Canada
11 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil I would hate to be stuck in that , with the assorted unwashed. Especially while wondering if the roof was going to be blown off! We get several tornado warnings each summer. Always while I am driving! I keep driving, while planning in my head what I am going to do if it heads my way, They say lay down in a ditch.
There have only been a couple of very damaging tornadoes in Alberta in my lifetime. Some do minor damage each year it seems. In a way, we don't worry about them enough.
What did the tornado end up doing?
2 people like this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
10 Mar 17
I can't say that I have but it sure doesn't sound like fun.
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
10 Mar 17
Yeah, fun is not a word I would use to describe the experience I had at Walmart this evening... Not by a LONG shot!
4 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
11 Mar 17
@fishtiger58 Yes, tiger, there is that, of course!
Edit to tag @VivaLaDani13 to the story of the tornado following Pretty and I. (The story is right below this, Dani.)
Edit to tag @VivaLaDani13 to the story of the tornado following Pretty and I. (The story is right below this, Dani.)4 people like this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
10 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil But at least the tornado didn't hit and you were safe. so there's that.
4 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
11 Mar 17
That's true, Ruby! (Long time, no see! How have you been doing? )
I don't really have to worry about tornadoes unless I go to the outskirts of my city. Tornadoes have always gone around my city, NEVER through it! We are simply too high for tornadoes to be interested in touching down IN the city....
Pretty and I have sat on our front porch several times and watched tornadoes skirt our city to north and south, but never through it!
Yes, the mighty owners of Walmart decided to set up shop in one of the paths tornadoes take around Aurora, Missouri.... I guess they thought they knew better than the rest of the residents here. It's just a matter of time until Walmart gets picked up and relocated in the next county over, in my opinion!
)
I don't really have to worry about tornadoes unless I go to the outskirts of my city. Tornadoes have always gone around my city, NEVER through it! We are simply too high for tornadoes to be interested in touching down IN the city....
Pretty and I have sat on our front porch several times and watched tornadoes skirt our city to north and south, but never through it!
Yes, the mighty owners of Walmart decided to set up shop in one of the paths tornadoes take around Aurora, Missouri.... I guess they thought they knew better than the rest of the residents here. It's just a matter of time until Walmart gets picked up and relocated in the next county over, in my opinion!2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
12 May 17
@RubyHawk LOL! You need to stop worrying about being behind in your notifications, hon! Look how long it took for me to reply to this! (You know, if you hadn't told me, I would never have known it took you a few days to notice the notification that you had a message waiting! grinning at you!)
WOW! That is closer than I have ever been to a tornado, Ruby! Pretty and I were chased by one when she was seven or eight years old, but you got closer to your tornado than we did!
I honestly hope you never do get locked into a Walmart, hon!
1 person likes this
@RubyHawk (99425)
• Atlanta, Georgia
5 May 17
@DaddyEvil I found your message. Sorry it ,took so long. I'm behind on my notifications as usual. Hope all is well We've had tornadoes all around us and once had one so close overhead that it wound off trees in our yard. That was a close call. Haven't been locked in at Walmart yet.
1 person likes this
@IreneVincent (15962)
• United States
27 Mar 17
That was a unique experience. I guess the photo lab was the safest place to be, at least. Glad you didn't get hurt. Some Wall Marts don't make it through a tornado though.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
3 Apr 17
I don't remember any around here that were destroyed in a tornado, Alice. Hang on a minute... Yes, Walmart stores in Georgia and Alabama have been destroyed in tornadoes. I didn't read the articles. Just checked to see where they were at. (I live in Missouri.)
1 person likes this
@IreneVincent (15962)
• United States
3 Apr 17
@DaddyEvil I couldn't remember where they were, but I knew I had seen it on the news. We've had several tornados here in Virginia and one of the worst tornados was when I was a child in West Virginia, a town called Shinnston near where I lived at the time. I don't know if you could find anything about it on line or not. I think I will check and see if I can find anything. It was in the early 1940s.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
25 Mar 17
Yeah, when you aren't crowded into the Photo Lab you really don't notice people and their odors! I tend to stay away from other people as much as I can, anyway. I am afraid of getting cooties!
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
25 Mar 17
@DianneN Well, I work at Walmart, so I have to go there! Granted, I don't work in THAT Walmart!
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246710)
• United States
25 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil I would be, too. That's why I never shop there. Lol!
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66857)
• Philippines
19 Mar 17
well, come to think of it... you were safe from the passing tornado.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
19 Mar 17
Yes, Ingrid, safe from the tornado, but not from my fellow humans!
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23231)
• Bangalore, India
10 Mar 17
Stinky or not, the description alone sounds claustrophobic.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
11 Mar 17
Yes, DJ, luckily enough, I don't have claustrophobia..... The Walmart associates would have been hard pressed to restrain me from leaving the store, had I been claustrophobic! LOL!
I think they would have let me leave if I had asked. I couldn't stay in Walmart, though.... so if I ask to leave the Photo Lab, I would have had to make a run for my car, at least. (Walmart is too close to the tornado path on the south side of the city. I wouldn't be willing to leave, just to get out of the funk.)
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23231)
• Bangalore, India
13 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil I am not claustrophobic either but I literally feel claustrophobic when I imagine stuff like that. I hope it makes sense! 
1 person likes this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
2 Apr 17
What's good is that you were all safe from the tornado.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
3 Apr 17
Yes, that is true! I should not complain about unavoidable things.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
14 Mar 17
It may have been stinky but guess it was safe, you can always have another shower but what if you had gotten blown of like Dorithy? What fruit did you carry back?
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
15 Mar 17
That is quite true, ARM! I was relatively safe in the Walmart.... I kept expecting to end up in Oz with all the uhm... nice people packed in like sardines.
If I had gone to Oz, then Pretty would still be waiting at home for her bananas, wouldn't she? LOL! (I believe I also bought peaches and nectarines, besides the bananas.)
If I had gone to Oz, then Pretty would still be waiting at home for her bananas, wouldn't she? LOL! (I believe I also bought peaches and nectarines, besides the bananas.)1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
16 Mar 17
@responsiveme Thank you, ARM! I am kinda happy about not being blown away, too....
And I ate some of the bananas, too! LOL!
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
16 Mar 17
@DaddyEvil Glad you were not blown off and Pretty got her fruits.
1 person likes this
