Chase 1998 by Nancy Bose Why Chase? I grew up the middle child of two hard working parents. My childhood was wonderful, my school years rather uneventful. We lived in various spots in the Midwest, ultimately settling in the East in Fairfield, CT. My college years were seasoned by the usual doings of the times, sit ins, war protests, etc. Like most baby boomers, I survived college, married the man I loved, had three wonderful children, and found a career. Throughout my years, though, always there were the storms. When I was 5, and living in Michigan, our town was struck by a large tornado. The devastation was huge, and it's impact on me was immense. It hit at night, and I was hastily grabbed from my bed, barely making it to the cellar. Hail the size of baseballs broke our casement windows, and when we emerged, our neighborhood was a mess. The effect that this sort of tragedy has on a youngster is crippling. It proves to a child that there really ARE monsters in the dark that can hurt you. They can invade your "safe place" and take away everything you have come to accept as being permanent. I spent the next few years with a devastating fear of storms. I would become fearful at every the sound of thunder, and nearly catatonic during tornado watches, which were frequent in that part of the Midwest. Many a night, my Mom would hold me and quiet my sobs. Only when all my family was safely home, and the various pets all accounted for would I have any peace at all. Sleep would come only if my father was standing sentry in front of our old black and white TV watching the warnings, or when the "all clear" whistle blew. My parents realized that they had a real problem, and began to confront that problem by teaching me everything they could about the nature of severe weather. My Dad once showed me how very small a tornado was on a map of our town, and how relatively limited its damage path was. He armed me with science, knowledge, math and logic to battle my demons.

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