watch that gap

I am coaching high school speech students

     You know how a tornado works.  Starts small, then grows as it sucks up everything in its path.  (This observation is based on first hand experience.  More on that later.)
     "Could you help with speech this year?" she asked, in a sweet sing songy voice that seemed so innocent.
     What would I do?  "Just work with a couple of kids for humorous duet acting."
     So I said yes.  (Feel free to make a fairly quite sucking sound.)
     I have kids doing humorous duets and some doing original comedy.  (Make that sound a little louder.)
     And by the way, the first meet is Nov. 19 (sucking sound gets louder) and it would be nice if the novice kids were ready to go. (Suck as loud as you can!)
     The first meet is a short one.  Starts at 7:30 a.m. (honestly....that is like 4 a.m. to the rest of you) and ends....oh, say about 2....maybe 3 at the latest.
     Now granted, I do not have to go to all the meets....but I am their coach and I want to see how they do.  So.....
     There are 9 meets.  All on Saturdays.  All early starters.
     The kids are great.  Honestly, I dreaded working with high schoolers but these people are all pretty amazing.
     I admit I had to ask about a couple of things in the OC.  "It's how we talk.  It means ......" has been uttered about half a dozen times.
     I told them I would be clueless about some of their references, and I am.  But one person clearly referenced Rocky Horror Picture Show and seemed shocked that I recognized the reference and have seen the show.  No generation gap, or at least a bridged gap.
     I started our first session by telling them:  I am at least 50 years older than you and in fact, could be older than one of your grandparents.  Also, I don't hear well, which is an advantage for you because if I can't hear you while sitting in the front, the judges sitting in the back sure won't be able to hear you, so speak up.
     So far it has been good.  More time consuming than I originally thought, but once we  hit that novice tournament, that will change.
     Life is a series of seemingly unrelated links...like this blog. When the Cubs won, a picture of the downtown skyline was posted on FB.  Buildings are lit up in Cubs colors, their bright lights reflected in the lake.
     I saw the photographer's name and clicked on her web site.  She is a storm chaser from the suburbs.
     She has two of the most awesome storm pictures I have ever seen.  They are of a huge EF 4 tornado last spring.  April 9.  The one that destroyed my daughter's house and changed all our lives.  "Tornado over Rochelle," is what she titled them.
     And then there is the picture of downtown......I knew I had to have it.
     So I bought a print.  I told her she had taken pictures of two of the most memorable events in my lifetime and while I was buying a picture of the happy event, I wasn't interested in the other.
     A coincidence?
     I think not.