On Saturday March 15th cities across America enjoyed the celebration of St. Patrick's day with parades and parties. In Atlanta the parade was set to start at noon that Saturday, however, due to uncontrollable circumstances, the Saint Patrick's day parade was canceled in order to show the tornado parade. All day Saturday Atlantans watched with nervousness while on every local station they played constant coverage of Doppler radar. Much like a parade viewers line of sight was on things coming in from one side. Meteorologists called it like they were announcers of a parade, but instead of "floats" they said "storms" and instead of having fun and drinking green punch viewers sat anxiously watching their televisions while hiding under a table. Atlanta was on edge all day. Everywhere you stood it was a guarantee that it would hail there by the day's end. A tornado tore through Atlanta the previous night, so if we were not watching the line of storms we were seeing devastating pictures from the tornado's path. Broken glass, twisted metal, and fallen trees filled the dead space between images of Doppler radar tracking storms right into our path. Parents were on edge, young children were terrified of the heavy winds and uncommon hail. For a day we all stood still. For me I related it to when cavemen roamed the earth, (not the Geico cavemen). It seemed as if all that mattered that day was finding shelter, staying out of the way, and staying alive. It was a scary day and seeing the damage first hand brought all those feelings back. As I drove into Atlanta this morning I saw windows blown out of buildings as tall as 72 stories. Buildings that I've been in and walked by and ate in were all subject to the path of the tornado. But today is a new day, a sunny day, and the 17th of March, the official Saint Patrick's day, and I'm wearing green and walking down the streets of downtown Atlanta from one class to another. After careful consideration I've decided to put that tornado parade behind me and enjoy my Monday...to the all the Atlantans who were like me I suggest the same. Happy Saint Patrick's day 2008.