David, You Only Had One Job! (A Modern Sorcerers Apprentice)

My student Carolyn Beauchamp describes observing an incident in which I saved our class from becoming tornado Fodder. 
But there is another  story  she could not tell...

In her story, we were all having lunch when all of a sudden a tornado appeared. Running out into the howling winds and dancing with the tornado ... in the air ... I was able to lift it easily into the sky. Because it was not my first tornado. 

But I have never shared the story of my first tornado. Until now. Because it isn't such a fun story. But it's true. Here it is. 

It was March of 1983. I was living on Parker Hill, a hilltop development above Santa Rosa.  
It was near sunset when I saw from my bedroom window a swirling funnel coming toward our home. The wind was howling. I danced with the tornado using my hands and arms and directed it off to my left ... where a rugged unoccupied hilltop, I hoped, would absorb its energy. To my surprise it did twist off left and missed our house. 

Within an hour I had convinced myself that the whole thing was a concoction of my imagination. After all, California doesn't have tornadoes! And of course ... neither do I!
I thought. 

Until the next morning. When Norman Miller, my roommate, said over breakfast: 
"Hey! We really had a tornado up here last night! Look at this picture!" and proceeded to show me of the renmants of damage done by the tornado!

Wow! But I didn't require his commentary.  
I had gone for a walk up the hill at dawn to look for any traces of the mysterious twister.
And a saw a house just below the hilltop.
It's roof had been torn off and was littered across several square yards. 
Ouch. 
"You only had one job!"

32 years later I found in Naples Florida the opportunity to do it right! And I did. Carolyn Beauchamp tells the story of what I did here.