A Sense of Doubt blog post #4245 - Letter to Dad #55 - Kalamazoo Tornado of 1980

A Sense of Doubt blog post #4245 - Letter to Dad #55 - Kalamazoo Tornado of 1980

Hi Big Guy,

I have been sitting on this topic for a while and trying to decide when would be best to publish it.

Right now, things in my life seem like severe weather, so this post is a metaphor for that tumult.

Though I am being a little melodramatic. There's no devastating path of destruction.

In fact, some things are going well. 

I managed a good day of self care on Sunday and plan to have another this Sunday. It's a set goal for me in this time of my practicum.

I worked with several people to solve a problem at my site that started last week, a week ago today.

Fence staining starts next week.

I wish you were here to do that with me. You liked doing that stuff together. I miss those projects. Though I am not doing this project. I hired someone with more expertise than I have.

As for the rest of this post, it's all captured content and images about the 1980 Kalamazoo Tornado that ripped through downtown Kalamazoo while I was stuck at home with mono.

I would have been at the civic theatre had I not been ill.

Many of my friends were there, and one foolish but heroic friend ran out of the building to warn people in Bronson Park to seek shelter and was thrown into an alcove on the side of the building as he attempted to return and the tornado literally passed on the street right next to him.

Crazy.

The city awarded him a medal of heroism.

More next week Dad, but about something else. :-)

Love you!

~ christopher


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Kalamazoo_tornado

https://www.1980kalamazootornado.org/

Path of Destruction
Afternoon of Tuesday, May 13, 1980

1:30 | Tornado watch issued in Southwest Michigan
2:30 | Funnel cloud spotted in Van Buren County
2:35 | Reports of funnel cloud spotted near Bangor, Van Buren County
3:48 | Tornado damage reported 14 miles west of Kalamazoo near Glendale, Van Buren County
4:00 | Tornado warning issued and sirens sound for city of Kalamazoo and surrounding areas
4:09 | Tornado enters western part of city and township limits, moving eastward
4:09-4:12 | Tornado strikes neighborhoods near the edge of Kalamazoo Township and City lines, skips and slams through Mountain Home Cemetery – Mari Gilman is killed at the Norge Laundry and Dry Cleaning on West Main St.
4:13-4:19 | Tornado lands in downtown Kalamazoo – three people are killed; Francis Hardy while traveling down Rose St. near Bronson Park, and Christina Wellington and Lucia McFall on Farmer’s Alley behind the Gilmore Department Store.
4:20-4:24 | Tornado crosses Pitcher St. traveling towards Comstock Township, damaging several industrial plants – Raymond Moyer is killed on Wynn Rd. in Comstock Township.
4:25 | Tornado dissipates between King Hwy and Comstock Ave., in central Kalamazoo County, just northwest of the village of Comstock

Looking north on Rose St. from the South St. intersection., the Young Women’s Christian Association (now Greenleaf Trust) and Industrial State Bank (now Comerica) buildings are visible on right. The skywalk connecting a parking garage and the Kalamazoo Center Hilton Inn (now Raddison Plaza Hotel) is also visible. (KVM 80.752)

Tracing the Path:

The 1980 Kalamazoo Tornado

Forty years ago on May 13, 1980 a tornado bore down on Kalamazoo. In just 16 short minutes, the tornado left an 11-mile path of destruction, killing 5 people, seriously injuring 79, and causing over $50 million in damage.

The tornado touched down at 4:09 p.m. near the western edge of the city limits, striking the neighborhoods along the West Main corridor. After tearing through Mountain Home Cemetery, the twister leapt to the bottom of West Main Hill, plowing into the St. Augustine Cathedral. In Bronson Park, over two dozen trees that had stood for over 150 years were uprooted or damaged.

Kalamazoo’s pedestrian mall and its surrounding buildings were next along the path of destruction. The six-story Gilmore Department Store building suffered extensive roof damage, and its east wall collapsed outward, piling massive amounts of rubble into Farmer’s Alley below. The tornado damaged several additional structures as it traveled towards Comstock Township, dissipating at 4:25 p.m. just northwest of downtown.

As we look back on the Kalamazoo tornado, the resilience of the city and the positivity of its inhabitants were paramount in the aftermath of disaster. “I Survived the Kalamazoo Tornado—Let’s Rebuild!” t-shirts were produced and words of encouragement were hand painted on wooden boards exclaiming, “It’ll Take More Than a Wind to do Kalamazoo In” and “Yes, there STILL is a Kalamazoo!”

 

Devastation at a Glance

5 people killed

79 people seriously injured

F3 rating on the Fujita scale, which classifies tornadoes from F1 to F5 – an F3 is a severe tornado with winds of 158-206 mph.

$50 million in estimated damages

$1.8 million in estimated automobile damages

31 Kalamazoo homes and businesses demolished

173 Kalamazoo homes and businesses with moderate-to-severe damage

1,200 Kalamazoo residents left temporarily displaced from their homes and workplaces

16 minutes for the tornado to cut a path across Kalamazoo after it touched down at 4:09 p.m. north of West Main St. and Drake Rd.

328 students at St. Augustine Elementary School who were sent home early, a mere hour before their school was destroyed

4 windows out of 112 left intact in the Industrial State Bank building – located at 151 S. Rose St., the site is currently the Comerica building.

2 number of days it took for essential services to be restored in the Kalamazoo area

F3 on the Fjuita Scale

In June 1980, Dr. Tetsuya Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago visited Kalamazoo to survey the damage left by the tornado. Dr. Fujita, in collaboration with Allen Pearson, head of the National Severe Storms Forecast Center, released a scale in 1971 to measure the intensity and severity of tornadoes called the Fujita Scale. While in Kalamazoo, Dr. Fujita confirmed a rating of F3, based on counterclockwise wind speeds reaching upwards of 150 – 175 miles per hour.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2610.01 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 4109 days ago & DAD = 763 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

A Sense of Doubt blog post #4244 - Revising a Poem Multiple Times - Writing Wednesday

A Sense of Doubt blog post #4244 - Revising a Poem Multiple Times - Writing Wednesday

Hello reader, and maybe some students as I am teaching creative writing right now,

I have been working on a new poem since my father died in 2024 called "Ghost Song's Heart."

I just completed a fifth typed revision, which does not count all the untyped drafting and revisions.

Here in this post you will find, first, the current version of the poem that includes some of my plan with numbers and patterns, which I may not include with the final version if I seek publication with it.

Some readers have had trouble with the "advice" aspect, the imperative voice. I get it. But that was the plan from the start, so for now, that remains.

Following the current version of the poem, there are pictures of my revision process, the first being the most recent marked up version. Following that, there are images of the original drafting and other revised typed versions.

Following all of that are the other four typed versions for comparison to see what I changed, what I cut, what I added.

Even the last version, the fourth, did not have four stanzas of seven lines each. There was one stanza with only six lines, which I changed for version five.

Please leave me a comment!!

Thanks for tuning in.



current version:

A Ghost Song’s Heart: advice on life

Dedicated to my father Robert Burns Tower

Born June 26, 1935 - Died August 28, 2024 at 13:40 EDT

28 = 7*4 (My mother died 7/4/15)

by christopher tower

 

Listen to the snow voices

The hard heart

Frost Magic Mandala

Know the guidebook to the muscle harp

See the crystals splinter open in the cold air

Winter dreams ring in the ear’s terrain

Swallow the fractal rhythms

 

Press your ear to the belly of the world song

Curve the sound, bowed, like your spine

Sing the song you cannot hear

Hollow out the Heart’s geometry

Drowning in the cove of mute bones

Teasing out of you the ghost secrets

Blurring radials of cold hair    

 

Enshroud the sound of the valley

Surrender to the wind that combs you out and away

Arch your true melodic back-bone

Hard fold the Heart Mountain

Until the layers unhide themselves

Tessellations layered on tessellations

Hold close the breath of tides

 

Breathe in the snow song

Curl into yourself beneath the shaggy hoar-frost

Stand among the heart bones quiet as a tree

Before the demon choirs come home to roost

Breathe out the ancient rhythm of the secret ghosts

The nothing that is there; the nothing that is

Talk to the dead inside your heart

 

Most recent:

Ghost Song’s Heart: advice on grief

by christopher tower (version one)

 

Listen to the voice in the snow

The hard heart

Magic Mandala

Know the guidebook of the harp

See the space break open in the air

Ring dreams in the ear’s terrain

Let the rhythms breathe

 

Press your ear to the belly of the back feed

Sound curved like a spine

Sing the song you cannot hear

Hollow out the dream

Geometric heart

Blurring radials of cold hair

Teasing the secret ghosts out of you

 

Fold close the sound of the valley

Let the wind comb you out and away

Arch your true melodic back-bone

Hard fold the heart mountain

Until layers are revealed

Tessellations on tessellations

Hold close to your chest the breath of tides

 

Know your own bone

Talk to the dead inside your heart

Breathe in the shaggy hoar-frost

Fail to rhyme; sing in seven-four time

Before the demons come home to roost

The nothing that is there; the nothing that is

Breathe out the heart’s true rhythm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VERSION TWO

 

A Ghost Song’s Heart: advice on life

by christopher tower

 

Listen to the voice in the snow

The hard heart

Frost Magic Mandala

Know the guidebook to the crystallized harp

See the space splinter open in the cold air

Winter dreams ring in the ear’s terrain

Swallow the fractal rhythms

 

Press your ear to the belly of the back feed

Curve the sound like your spine

Sing the song you cannot hear

Hollow out the dream – the Geometric Heart

Blurring radials of cold hair                            

Teasing out of you the ghost secrets

 

Fold close to your chest the sound of the valley

Surrender to the wind that combs you out and away

Arch your true melodic back-bone

Hard fold the Heart Mountain

Until the layers unhide themselves

Tessellations on tessellations

Hold closer the breath of tides

 

Breathe in the shaggy hoar-frost

Talk to the dead inside your heart

Fail to rhyme; sing in seven-four time

Before the demon choirs come home to roost

The nothing that is there; the nothing that is

Breathe out the heart’s true rhythm

Know your own bone

 

 

 

 

 

 

VERSION THREE

 

A Ghost Song’s Heart: advice on life

by christopher tower

 

Listen to the voice in the snow

The hard heart

Frost Magic Mandala

Know the guidebook to the crystallized harp

See the space splinter open in the cold air

Winter dreams ring in the ear’s terrain

Swallow the fractal rhythms

 

Press your ear to the belly of the world song

Curve the sound like your spine

Sing the song you cannot hear

Hollow out the dream – the Geometric Heart

Blurring radials of cold hair                            

Teasing out of you the ghost secrets

 

Fold close to your chest the sound of the valley

Surrender to the wind that combs you out and away

Arch your true melodic back-bone

Hard fold the Heart Mountain

Until the layers unhide themselves

Tessellations on tessellations

Hold closer the breath of tides

 

Breathe in the snow song

Curl into yourself beneath the shaggy hoar-frost

Fail to rhyme; sing in seven-four time

Before the demon choirs come home to roost

Breathe out the ancient rhythm of your heart

The nothing that is there; the nothing that is

Talk to the dead inside your heart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VERSION FOUR

 

A Ghost Song’s Heart: advice on life

by christopher tower

 

Listen to the voice in the snow

The hard heart

Frost Magic Mandala

Know the guidebook to the crystallized harp

See the space splinter open in the cold air

Winter dreams ring in the ear’s terrain

Swallow the fractal rhythms

 

Press your ear to the belly of the world song

Curve the sound like your spine

Sing the song you cannot hear

Hollow out the dream – the Geometric Heart

Blurring radials of cold hair                            

Teasing out of you the ghost secrets

 

Fold close to your chest the sound of the valley

Surrender to the wind that combs you out and away

Arch your true melodic back-bone

Hard fold the Heart Mountain

Until the layers unhide themselves

Tessellations on tessellations

Hold closer the breath of tides

 

Breathe in the snow song

Curl into yourself beneath the shaggy hoar-frost

Fail to rhyme; sing in seven-four time

Before the demon choirs come home to roost

Breathe out the ancient rhythm of the ghosts

The nothing that is there; the nothing that is

Talk to the dead inside your heart

 

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2609.26 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 4104 days ago & DAD = 758 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

A Sense of Doubt blog post #4243 - Justin Verlander Retires

A Sense of Doubt blog post #4243 - Justin Verlander Retires

Always a sad day when the regular Baseball season ends, especially when either of my teams (Tigers and Cubs) are not in the playoffs. But I also miss all the other teams who don't advance and miss having Baseball EVERY DAY.

Extra sadness this year as my favorite Baseball player, Justin Verlander, retired with an exceptional final start and an emotional goodbye.

I have an article to share about that start and his retirement ceremony plus videos of everything.

Good bye Tigers until next year.

Goodbye Verlander.

Thanks for tuning in.

Justin Verlander Leaves the Field for the Final Time, Daughter Genevieve Meets Him at the Mound

Tigers' emotional Justin Verlander leaves final career start to hugs

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/50035748/tigers-emotional-justin-verlander-leaves-final-career-start-hugs

Sep 26, 2026, 04:20 PM ET

DETROIT -- Justin Verlander had just retired the leadoff batter in the sixth inning of his major league finale when Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch walked from the dugout toward home plate. The pitcher's 7-year-old daughter suddenly sprinted to the mound.

"That completely blindsided me, and it hit me like a ton of bricks," Verlander said.

A stellar career for the 43-year-old right-hander ended with a 4-3, come-from-behind win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Verlander's emotions will be remembered far more than the score in a meaningless game on the next-to-last day of his 21st big league season.

"That was amazing. I was sobbing and had to make sure that she understood I was happy," Verlander said. "She's never seen me cry like that."

Genevieve Verlander, wearing a Tigers jersey with her dad's name and No. 35, saw her cue from Hinch and ran. When she reached the mound, she hugged her father, who reached down to embrace her and started shaking.

Hinch joined them about 25 seconds later for another hug, and then Verlander was surrounded by Tigers teammates who came to the mound.

Hinch had planned Genevieve's mound trip with Verlander's wife, model Kate Upton.

"It's hard to surprise a guy who has everything planned and mapped out more than any human I've ever been around," said Hinch, who managed Verlander to the 2017 World Series title with the Houston Astros. "We wanted to come up with something special, and his family means everything to him."

A 10-time All-Star and three-time American League Cy Young Award winner, Verlander left the field from his final mound appearance grasping his daughter's hand as the Comerica Park crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Upton, holding 1-year-old son Bellamy, joined Justin and Genevieve for a group hug in front of the Tigers' dugout, and Justin high-fived teammates and doffed his cap to the crowd before descending the dugout steps with his family.

"I've obviously talked a lot about how my life has changed and how my family is what I'm looking forward to most in my retirement," he said. "Walking off the field with them to end my career is as good as I could have dreamed."

Hinch brought Miguel Cabrera's family onto the field when he came out of his final game in 2023.

"They don't normally let non-uniformed people onto the field," Hinch said. "But they make exceptions for guys who are going to be first-ballot Hall of Famers."

In all, there was a 5½-minute wait until reliever Tyler Kinley threw his first pitch.

Verlander allowed two runs and five hits in 5⅓ innings with one walk and six strikeouts in his 91-pitch outing. He was making his second start of the year and first since March 30 in a season derailed by a sore hip and hamstring injury.

"He didn't want a cameo. He wanted today to be a competitive outing, and we could tell in the third and fourth innings that he wasn't laboring," Hinch said. "He certainly left us with a reminder of why he's one of the best of all time."

Eduardo Valencia's walk-off homer in Detroit's victory meant Verlander didn't take a loss in his finale. He ended 266-159 with a 3.33 ERA and 3,560 strikeouts, eighth on the career list.

"That was a great finish to a great day," Hinch said. "There was no way Justin Verlander was going to take the loss in his last game as a Tiger."

Pittsburgh's fifth batter, 20-year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin, had not been born when Verlander made his debut for the Tigers on July 4, 2005.

Verlander received a standing ovation when he headed to the bullpen to warm up and a longer one when he returned to the dugout before the first pitch. Academy Award-winning actor J.K. Simmons, a longtime Tigers fan, announced him as part of Detroit's starting lineup.

Verlander took the field for the first inning to another ovation. He was alone on the field as his teammates stayed in the dugout to give him the spotlight.

"That blindsided me, too," he said. "I probably should have expected it, but I was trying to stick with my routine, so I ran out onto the field. I was ready to go before I realized everyone else was still in the dugout."

Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead against Verlander on solo homers by Lowe in the fourth and Nick Gonzales in the fifth, the first on an 89.7 mph fastball and the second on a curve.

Verlander pitched for the Tigers from 2005 to 2017, then returned this year after time with Houston, the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants.

"All the ovations today brought back a lot of fond memories of the old days here, when this park was raucous every night," Verlander said. "My body, though, didn't remind me of those days at all."

Justin Verlander: What A Ride

• 557 career starts with 266-159 record and 3.33 ERA.
• One of two players all time to win Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young Award in their careers (Don Newcombe).
• One of 11 pitchers all time to win at least three Cy Young Awards; one of seven to win Cy Young in both leagues.
• In 2022, led MLB with a 1.75 ERA at the age of 39, becoming second-oldest pitcher behind Roger Clemens (42 in 2005) to do so.
• Only pitcher to win Cy Young Award in first season back from Tommy John surgery.
• One of six pitchers in MLB history with at least three no-hitters.
• Eighth in MLB history in strikeouts (3,560).
• 10-time All-Star, tied for 6th most all-time among pitchers.
• 266 career wins, most of any pitcher in wild-card era (since 1994).
• Two-time World Series champ (2017, 2022) with Astros.
• All-time leader in postseason strikeouts (244) and second in playoff starts (37) and wins (17).
-- ESPN Research

Must See JV: The Justin Verlander Story | Detroit Tigers JV Career Celebration

Detroit Tigers JV Career Celebration | Full Pregame Ceremony Honoring Justin Verlander

Justin Verlander: The Person | Detroit Tigers JV Career Celebration

Pirates vs. Tigers Game Highlights (9/26/26) | MLB Highlights

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2609.29 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 4107 days ago & DAD = 761 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.