Not too long after the May 3rd, 1999, tornado outbreak here in Oklahoma, LD gave me the second-best…read moregift he's ever given me: a safe room. Fast-forward to spring, 2021, and the sale of our home in the Village... I had to leave my safe room behind. I didn't want to... didn't like to... but 1) it would be harder than hell to move, 2) it wouldn't fit in or anywhere around the new digs, and 3) it was a definite plus when it came to selling the house.
I gave myself a strong talking-to, tried (and semi-succeeded) convincing myself I'd outgrown my tornado terror. And I did pretty well - until we had that last too-close brush with Mother Nature. I needed a safe room... no doubt about it, no way out of it.
The search began. I thought it would be easy to find a modular safe room like the one we had, but I was wrong there, too. Modular safe rooms don't come in small sizes - nothing would fit the condo's limited spaces... then I remembered I'd seen one at one of the Big Box Stores that was shaped like a bullet... and, if I remembered correctly, was smaller than any of the modular ones. As long as it would accommodate two old, fat people and a few furbabies, we'd be good.
Google is my friend in most situations and it was no different in this instance. I googled 'bullet shaped tornado shelter' and the first link that popped up was for New Day Tornado Shelters - https://newdaytornadoshelters.com/- followed by a couple others that proved to be still too big for our situation. New Day's unit is a 42" diameter column, just big enough for three people (or two people, one cat, and two dogs). Add in the fact it was over $1000 less than the other two options and bingo! We had a winner.
The first thing New Day did that impressed me: the owner called me direct, not too long after I sent them a message via their website. The owner. Who also turned out to be the developer of the shelter... and yes, it's had all the testing and is in compliance with all FEMA guidelines. Second: It's not only 'Made in the USA'; it's made right here in Oklahoma, in Tulsa, and comes complete with lights, fan, seat, earmuffs, whistle, locks, etc. He answered all my questions, was more than willing to work through an issue with possible replacement of a patio door the shelter might have made very difficult to do; and, third, with it being winter, he could deliver at just about any time I wanted.
Well, I wanted and he delivered. He personally drove down from Tulsa, installed the shelter himself in less than two hours (and he had to take down/replace a fence panel to do it!), cleaned up what little mess he'd made (and there wasn't much), gave us New Day Shelter Operation Class, and was on his way back to Tulsa in no time...
AND I HAVE A BRAND-SPANKING NEW TORNADO SHELTER IN TIME FOR SPRING IN OKLAHOMA! I am a happy camper.
It's the third-best gift LD has ever given me.