Susan, Ronnie, Connie, Kaycie, Joanna, Sally, Teresa, Charlotte, Charlotte, Elaine, Linda, Alicia

Some of Clan Karbowski got it into their heads that it was about time for “the sisters” to get together. Since our departure from Spencer a couple years ago, the many yearly parties we liked to host have just not been happening and, as a result, fewer “family moment” opportunities have come up. So, why not just call an audible (football term), “Party, party, hut, hut, hut!” …and Maxwell Silverman’s in Worcester became the spot. Yeah, there were some mixed signals about who should come (it was “The Sisters” not “ladies only…sorry about that Bobby), and, in addition to Ronnie (in photo), Bob M. and Casey D. did attended. Where were they? Taking the darned photos, of course. What else do they ever do?

 Speaking of photos, did we manage to get more? Well, yeah. It takes time to assemble such a massive collection of of photographic and cinematic splendor. We’ll get to it. For now, here are Joanna, Sally, Teresa, and Charlotte, well fed after a wonderful brunch at Maxwell Silverman’s.

Mmmm…can’t wait to do it again!

Here’s a link to a short video: The Sisters Family Gathering Movie

Jennifer, Patrick and the tattoo artist got credits in the movie too. Almost at the very end of the credit roll, you’ll see a line where Jennifer’s video (she shot this on her iPhone) is given attribution.

BTW – you can watch Jen’s video on Youtube where it was first posted back in 2009.

Why All The Secrecy?

We were sworn to secrecy by Marvel Comic. Really. Here’s what happened.

Patrick had designed a version of the Captain America Shield. Patrick’s version had cracks in it to show how well worn it was from all its battles. While in Connecticut one day, he decided to get this tattooed onto his arm. Jen was right there and captured the magic on her iPhone. They posted the video onto YouTube.

A few months ago, Patrick got an email from someone claiming to be from Marvel Comics. They wanted to use his video in a movie. They needed releases from him and Jen.

What movie?

The Avengers.

Now, for those of you who know Patrick, you know he’s a big fan of the comics and his favorite character is Captain America. As it turns out, Captain America is one of the Avengers. So, for Patrick (and his tattoo) to be considered for a roll in this movie was more than he could handle. He was ecstatic!

Would he give permission?

Hell, yes!

So, the first challenge they faced was to locate the tattoo artist. Marvel Comics didn’t know who he was and, for the next three weeks, it was iffy as to whether they, or Jen and Patrick, could contact him. Patrick remembered where he got the tattoo, but the artist wasn’t there. It turned out, he was somewhere in San Francisco on vacation. Patrick and Jen tried emailing him, but didn’t get any replies. Without the tattoo artists permission, Jen’s video clip might not make it into the movie. The release date for the movie was coming up and everyone was getting nervous.

Well, eventually, Marvel Comics tracked him down. The artist agreed. Jen and Patrick agreed. They all had to sign releases. Patrick and the artist for their image to be used in the movie and Jen for her copyrighted video to be used.

The releases made it very clear that no one could talk about this until the movie was officially release on May 4th. It was a secret.

That’s right. We couldn’t tell anyone.

But what about Youtube? …well, there’s no mention of the movie on Youtube. It’s just Jen’s video that’s there, as it has been since 2009. So that was OK.

Could we really keep the secret? Yeah. Sure. Besides, there was the danger that Marvel would decide not to use the video at all. It could drop Patrick to the cutting room floor, as they say.

Anyway, all of that is moot. We can talk about it now! It’s there!

An so, on Friday, a bunch of us were at the theater…the Patrick America Clan? And, sure enough, when Patrick’s smile came up on the big screen, we all whooped and cheered. Folks around us had no idea about why. We did this all over again when the credit roll came by.

(FYI – Jen and Patrick attended the midnight showing earlier in the day. So, this was their second time to celebrate.)

How did we like the rest of the movie?

Amazing! …it’s exciting, interesting, very funny. We loved it. Highly recommended…especially the Patrick part.

This building is no longer standing. There has been a lot of construction atop the Vernon Hill area. But, for those who first started their lives as infants here, it’s a memory that now lives on beyond a postcard. You can download a larger version for your scrapbook if you’d like…

St. Vincent’s Image – larger version -  (right click on this link to download it to your computer)

Leave us a comment if you were born here.

Kaycie In The Kitchen

We will probably incorporate some, or all of this, in our next TIK release which may make it out to some of the cable access stations in various towns. If not, it’s always available online.

Of course, everything on DanekWorld is still available using the new URL. It’s just the address that changes, not content.

In Blogroll, there are many links to web stuff that’s active and gets updated often.

In the Archive section, you can find web stuff that is many years old. It’s not going to update much and some of the links there may not work. Sorry about that.

We think we have found a good compromise.

Since we like having a real web server on the Internet (where you can do your own thing), we will continue funding that. That means we will continue with RCDANEK.US and it, in turn, will host web content. We are also going to keep Thyme In The Kitchen there, and Patrick will continue with his excellent Mojo Going stuff there. Art has his Art Danek Photography website living here, too. Sweet. These domain names will just work as always.

But what’s going to happen to DanekWorld?

Now, there’s a difference between a domain name going away and all of its contents going away. In our case, the DanekWorld stuff is actually already buried somewhere underneath RCDANEK.US. So…

• the DanekWorld Blog (what you are reading now) can be accessed using rcdanek.us/dw. (We also have something on the free WordPress site.)
• DanekWorld INFO content can be accessed using rcdanek.us/dw/info, but we’ve already copied most of it into the blog…so, you really won’t need it.
• groundglassproductions.com can be accessed using rcdanek.us/ggp

Unless someone else offers to pay for it, and DANEKWORLD.INFO needs to be renewed by March 2012, we probably won’t renew it. But that’s not a bad thing, really.

Christmas with the McColleys on Facebook and the same photos on Google+.

Christmas with the Daneks on Google+.

So, what’s up with the Facebook and Google+ stuff…and can anyone see these photos? Maybe not. In Facebook, you probably have to be a Friend. In Google+, you may need to be in the Friends or Family circle. We’re still getting used to this social networking stuff.

I remember being in Colorado Springs in the 1970′s visiting with a coworker at his home. During the late afternoon, we were discussing his new life there and we heard a siren nearby. We didn’t know what it was so we kept on talking. The next day, he told me that, as he was new to the area, he hadn’t yet learned about the tornado warning siren. We really should have looked for shelter. I don’t recall if there had been an actual tornado touchdown reported for that day…probably not. Live and learn, though.

Click here to look at before and after images.

Years later, in Spencer, Lee was driving home with Jen when she was very young – early grade school. I was in another part of the State photographing bicyclists. The storm clouds were horrendous and during the thunder storm at Breezy Bend, Lee said she thought she could see electricity sparking off of the hood of the car. Her only thought was to get home to safety. The closer she got there, the worse the storm got. It was really a bad idea and in the end, she was carrying Jen in her arms across the railroad tracks to get to the safety of the house. Lee said the water under the bridge in front of the house was several feet deep and she couldn’t drive through. So going over the tracks was the only option. Just before that, while she was still in the car in front of the bridge wondering what she should do, someone drove past and told her her a tornado was coming and she should turn around. Still, the safety of the house was too tempting, so she got out and went over the tracks on foot. Inexperience in such situations can be dangerous. Should she have just turned around and driven away in another direction. Just get away.

A few years back, when Lee’s Mom, Hedwig, was living with us, I recall warnings on TV that severe weather was coming and that we should take shelter when told to do so. I didn’t pay any attention to this, but at one point, I noticed that the wind picked up. One moment, it was blowing left to right, and the next it reversed, and then back again. Then the Emergency Broadcasting System came up on our TV or radio. I gathered up Lee, Hedwig, a lamp and the portable radio and rushed us all to the cellar, away from windows – standard Survival 101 for tornados. I’m pretty sure we didn’t have one that day, although I did learn a new term, microbursts.

So, on June 1st of this year, in the late afternoon, when we started getting warnings about possible tornados, we paid attention. Learn and live. I knew that interesting things could happen quickly. This time, we had more modern radar, lots of TV coverage and the Internet. I could see the storm front approaching on radar and the precise areas of intense rain coming towards us. Most of this seemed to be massing to the north, heading for Northampton, Amherst. It would miss us. I thought it was over even though the official “warning” was in effect for the full evening.

A while later, at about 4:00 PM, it seemed as if one pesky, colorful Doppler radar area was forming just to our west and, possibly, had us in its sights. It was very small compared to the others that had already occurred. How could it be dangerous?

In the picture, above, of our back yard, it looks like I have captured an oncoming tornado. This isn’t the case. According to the time stamp of the photo, I made this image 10 minutes before I believe the actual tornado passed. Instead, this was just the juxtaposition of a low passing dark cloud against the rising column in the background; it just looks like more than it is. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure that background column in this photo is, in fact, the cell that spawned the tornado that would go on to become an EF3 that did so much damage in our area.

Here is a video link to our experience during this event…

Click here to view our video, Brush With A Tornado.

…I put this together starting with still images taken from my iPhone from our new back deck. I was drawn to the photography because of the amazing cloud formations. I felt safe because everything before seemed to have headed off to our north. Even this one final column of clouds that looked so ominous, seemed like it would pass us by. I guess one never knows. Weather can really be unpredictable.

NASA's image of the tornado's path going through central MA, notably Monson and Sturbridge. This image was annotated by MassLive. You can find the original image at the NASA website. Boston.com has a good timeline for reference.

There has been a lot of coverage on TV and the Internet about the amazing damage that was done in West Springfield, Springfield, and all the way out to Brimfield, Monson and beyond. We were very fortunate not to have suffered as much as the poor people who live in some of those areas. Lives were lost there. You can easily find many more images and videos via web searches. I’m not trying to compete with that here. I just wanted to tell our story. As far as lessons learned, it’s pretty clear that, with a tornado, you just don’t know. One minute there’s nothing there and the next its chaos. It happens faster than you can imagine. What you think you know, you don’t. You really have very little time to get to safety.

One of the things that struck me while I was capturing the video was that I was drawn to looking out of windows in the middle of the highest winds. Debris flies about randomly in these storms and anything could have come through a window. Yet, I couldn’t help myself. I may have foolishly thought that I’d be quick enough to jump out of the way should something get serious. I’m not sure that’s a sound way of thinking anymore, especially after seeing the aftermath. Will I take that into consideration for the next time, should one arise? I think so.

Also, in many videos of tornadoes you see on TV and the Internet, you see the funnel approaching with traffic heading either toward or away from the storm. I often wonder what’s wrong with the people heading toward the storm. In my own video, there are cards passing the house heading toward where I believe the tornado had just passed. The only thing I can think is that people just don’t realize what’s actually happening. It really is that fast and that unpredictable.

Live and learn. Learn and live.

Links To Other Videos And Images

From An Office Building In Springfield

Tornado Sucking Up Water From Connecticut River

From A Car On I91

Aftermath Of Tornado

Aftermath – Walking Along Beech St in Springfield

Other YouTube Videos

Mass Live Images

Boston.com Timeline

NASA’s Earth Observator Photo Of Tornado’s Path

My Marked Up Map From Google Maps

The small, black arrow shows where we live and how close we were to my estimation of the track of the storm. This, of course, is my guess based on where I saw damage and where in Springfield I believe damage was done. I don’t know how straight line such a storm goes. In some of the videos shot from office buildings, it appears that the storm veers slightly as it crosses the Connecticut River going from a railroad bridge to Memorial Bridge. The most dramatic being how the water got sucked up into to vortex.

Television news (Channel 22) report that investigators believe the storm started in Westfield…”damage in the area of the Munger Hill School, Ridgecrest and Winding Ridge neighborhoods” and Steiger Rd. These are fairly close to the left side of my red arrow.

How close, really?

I used the distance checker on Google Maps and from our house to Provin Mt. Rd. is about 780 feet. From a walkthrough of the area, one might be inclined to believe that this road was the center of the tornado as it swept through Feeding Hills. The damage seemed to be greatest here, and got less and less as you walked away. On the other hand, who knows how these things really work? We don’t. It was close enough, thank you.

Last week, we said goodbye to my Sister-in-Law, Teresa. She had been in our lives, my life, for about 50 years and as I thought about the kind of person she was, I realized that I never, ever had an angry, ill thought towards her. In anyone’s life, you find friends and family with all manner of personality and character. Every once in a while, someone does something that drives you a bit crazy, or you drive them crazy. You get angry, or they get angry. You get over it. Life goes on as if nothing happened.

There was never such a moment with her. It’s as if an angel spirit live in her. Her kindness and generosity were boundless.

So, now, I think I know what a gentle heart is. She had been showing me all along.