Tonight, while on the way home from Georgia, we literally watched a tornado form directly in front of us. Right after we noticed it, our phones gave us a touch-down warning about a quarter mile away from us -- probably closer. We took the first exit, pulled into a gas station, pulled the baby from her carseat, and I threw my 12 year old daughter, who cannot walk, over my shoulder. I'm talking this happened so fast that my children didn't have time to put their shoes on. We ran into the back and hid in the bathroom. Lights flickering, the building's creaking, I mean this feels like a horror movie.
The power went out, and Penny, who was working at the store, screamed "No customers in the store when the power is out, you have to leave." We were not the only family with children in the store, there were other parents with small children. Someone said "There is literally a tornado right outside and there are children in here." She said, "I said get out, no customers in the store when the power is out, boss's orders." I said, "I have a baby and a child who cannot walk." And she just looked at me and held the door open. All of my children were sobbing. She watched me carry my hysterical daughter back out to the car in storm conditions so severe I could barely walk without even an ounce of sympathy.
We got back on the interstate to another tornado warning -- this is when I took the screenshot of my maps below. Drove for 10 minutes with tornadoes on either side of us. Literally could not see the road in front of us. We finally found an exit and ran into mcdonalds.
It has since passed, we are safe. My kids have calmed down and are eating chicken nuggets. I cannot stop shaking and my heart is probably going to race for the rest of the night. But mostly, I cannot believe the audacity of this store, sending children out into terrifying conditions because of "policy".
This is the gas station. Marathon on Sgoda Rd in Dry Branch, GA. Figured people who are more local to them would like to know how much they care about their customers.
So Penny, I guess thanks for giving my kids a nice traumatic experience and a new fear of storms. I'm glad your fear for someone stealing store merchandise is greater than your compassion for my children's lives. Frankly, I would've told my boss to kiss my ass and kept those kids safe. read more
