Que Sera Sera by Niles M. Reddick
Que Sera Sera
By Niles M. Reddick
We were binge-watching The Crown on Netflix when the texts and alarms came to all of our
cell phones, and Frost and Maggie, our miniature schnauzers named for two poet laureates, barked,
ran around the kitchen, breakfast room, and keeping room. Just as we were being introduced to Sister
Alice (Princess Alice, mother of Prince Phillip), I had to find the remote and then tried to find weather
news, but the Weather Channel only had soft, instrumental music playing. I listened to a classical
version of “Que Sera Sera” while trying to read the scrolling message at the bottom of the screen in
red, but I couldn’t make it out without my readers.
cell phones, and Frost and Maggie, our miniature schnauzers named for two poet laureates, barked,
ran around the kitchen, breakfast room, and keeping room. Just as we were being introduced to Sister
Alice (Princess Alice, mother of Prince Phillip), I had to find the remote and then tried to find weather
news, but the Weather Channel only had soft, instrumental music playing. I listened to a classical
version of “Que Sera Sera” while trying to read the scrolling message at the bottom of the screen in
red, but I couldn’t make it out without my readers.
Finding the local news, the weather team showed maps, talked about the storms forming hooked
curves, wind speeds at four thousand feet registering sixty miles per hour, and they wouldn’t admit
there were tornados despite the weather service having issued two warnings for our county. It didn’t
seem time to have a contest of wits between local and national weather reporters. It did make sense,
however, for my wife and our two teens (after I yelled to turn off the damned Xbox upstairs) to go into
an interior room downstairs with the dogs. I listened for the sirens and the sound of a train and watched
as sheets of rain sprayed the Western side of our house like a firehose while water seeped through the
caulking in our windows and flowed under the door.
curves, wind speeds at four thousand feet registering sixty miles per hour, and they wouldn’t admit
there were tornados despite the weather service having issued two warnings for our county. It didn’t
seem time to have a contest of wits between local and national weather reporters. It did make sense,
however, for my wife and our two teens (after I yelled to turn off the damned Xbox upstairs) to go into
an interior room downstairs with the dogs. I listened for the sirens and the sound of a train and watched
as sheets of rain sprayed the Western side of our house like a firehose while water seeped through the
caulking in our windows and flowed under the door.
I heard an explosion and crash, and it sounded like our house might spin and take off like the old
farmhouse in The Wizard of Oz, but as soon as the ruckus came, it was gone, and I got to finish our
episode of The Crown that featured Sister Alice, perhaps one of the most dramatic and tragic characters
among the royals.
farmhouse in The Wizard of Oz, but as soon as the ruckus came, it was gone, and I got to finish our
episode of The Crown that featured Sister Alice, perhaps one of the most dramatic and tragic characters
among the royals.
The best part of the storm was that all of the pollen was washed off of my car I’d left in the
driveway. The next morning, when the sun rose, I saw limbs all over my yard and a couple of
trees down in my neighbors’ yards. There were plastic bags, empty cans, and someone’s mail
scattered about the street, and one street over, we saw several homes with roof damage, blue
tarps covering holes, a plastic pool in a Hackberry tree, and car upside down in a ditch, which
we later learned was lifted off the road with a teen driver and tossed into the ditch. The teen
had come out completely unscathed, except emotional trauma and a great story to tell.
driveway. The next morning, when the sun rose, I saw limbs all over my yard and a couple of
trees down in my neighbors’ yards. There were plastic bags, empty cans, and someone’s mail
scattered about the street, and one street over, we saw several homes with roof damage, blue
tarps covering holes, a plastic pool in a Hackberry tree, and car upside down in a ditch, which
we later learned was lifted off the road with a teen driver and tossed into the ditch. The teen
had come out completely unscathed, except emotional trauma and a great story to tell.
All in all, the tornados weren’t as bad, and I felt good and couldn’t get Doris Day’s version
of “Que Sera Sera” out of my mind. I imagined we needed to take the line “Whatever will be
will be” and adopt it as our slogan since we lived in tornado alley, and I imagined others
who lived in other geographical areas should, too: people who lived in California with the
ever present threat of earthquakes, people in the Rockies who dealt with avalanches, or people
in Florida who dealt with looming hurricanes each year. Come what may, we’d probably
experience something similar again soon, and I imagined Queen Elizabeth would advise us in her
lovely accent, “If one chooses to live in a place with adverse weather, then one must simply deal
with the consequences”, followed by a dismissive bell.
of “Que Sera Sera” out of my mind. I imagined we needed to take the line “Whatever will be
will be” and adopt it as our slogan since we lived in tornado alley, and I imagined others
who lived in other geographical areas should, too: people who lived in California with the
ever present threat of earthquakes, people in the Rockies who dealt with avalanches, or people
in Florida who dealt with looming hurricanes each year. Come what may, we’d probably
experience something similar again soon, and I imagined Queen Elizabeth would advise us in her
lovely accent, “If one chooses to live in a place with adverse weather, then one must simply deal
with the consequences”, followed by a dismissive bell.
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