The "wayseer" movment, really??!!!!! WTF is that all about

Some, who read this blog, are also friends with me, on various social media outlets that I use, such as Facebook and twitter. Those who follow me there may have seen a particular video/web page advertised on my Facebook called “The Wayseer Manifesto” both of which have since been removed.

The video was posted by another fb friend who has absolutely nothing to do with my love of storm chasing, as she is not a storm chaser or weather enthusiast, not that I am aware of anyway. However, she shared the video with me based on the comments I tend to make in the “status” section on FB, which is understandable and she is correct, I do feel the same as she does, our ideas mesh and we are like-minded and our ideas are often misunderstood or unaccepted.

I watched the video and yes, I must admit I was intrigued. Imagine that, there really are others out there who understand my point of view, as many tend to agree with a statement here and there, but otherwise question or argue other statements that I make. This is in no way meant to insult the person who posted the video, as based on my conversation with her last night, she is correct, she and I do have a lot in common and I am honored to have her as a friend on Facebook.

The video touched something deep inside, the words to the song spoke to the person I keep hidden from most and finally, I was assured that I was not alone. The video offered an assault of images that portrayed historical figures that have in one way or another moved humanity into a more tolerant and accepting present day direction and promises to continue to do so. However, I found I was forced to pay more attention to the images than to what was being said. I found that to be questionable, as I also noticed that the words (being sung) did not quite follow the text, telling me most of the meaning of the song was being lost in the images.

I went to the web site, took the test and finally read the words to the song. As I was reading it, I was reminded of the point in my life when I discovered Dianetics and that in and of itself made me question the entire movement.

The test however, did state that I am a wayseer, as I scored 90%, but that, the very fact that I am a so-called wayseer forced me to walk away from the inspiring words and pretty pictures and actually consider the movement.

As I did this, I was left with not only questions, but a nagging knot in my gut that told me this “movement” is not all that it is cracked up to be. One of the things I question regularly is anyone who would appoint themselves an expert or anyone who would claim to know exactly how I feel. We might be like minded individuals and we might share some amount of passion and insight on world events, but that does not mean you “Know Me”, hell not even Shane really knows me.

I spent many years soul searching, trying to find those who would understand and accept me, only to discover each time, that the leader of each movement was a con artist. In all honesty, I discovered that most were individuals who were looking for nothing more than a way to herd the sheep into their sick and demented little belief system; simply put, they were seeking a position of power over an ignorant and often misunderstood portion of the population.

They offer an attractive and alluring window dressing with words that touches ones soul and ignites a flame of burning desire that forces one to follow the leader, to become part of the herd. Only to learn that once the follower assumes they too have found the way, the ugly truth behind the movement emerges and by then it is too late for most to find their way out.

Take L. Ron Hubbard and the church of Scientology for instance, no really take them.

Have any of you read his book; Dianetics, because I have. While the book does offer an indebt and surprisingly interesting look into the psychology of the human mind, some of which is accurate, the “religion” that stems from this book claims that the world will one day be destroyed by the Galactic over lord Xenu, does anyone else see the problem with this? This wayseer states on his facebook page that dead artists and philosophers have endorsed him; personally, I do not see much of a difference between that statement and Xenu, the Galactic over lord, but hey, that is just the “wayseer” in me.

Although I know that there are millions of level headed and sane individuals in the world today. Individuals whom are NOT overly consumed with the desire to be completely accepted by seemingly “like-minded” people, there are still millions who follow the Church of Scientology and other groups like it, groups that I believe and I fear include the Wayseer.

These people actually assume that despite the facts about suicides, deaths due to maltreatment by church members and officials, and the fact that thousands of families continue to search for loved ones who have been consumed by such movements, their leaders “know and understand the way”. L. Ron Hubbard is only the beginning, news of such organizations and the unfortunate demise of their followers can be found throughout history and I am often left to wonder, what the hell is it that draws seemingly intelligent and sane individuals into these religions or movements?

It seems to me that these “followers” are individuals who are completely incapable of thinking for themselves, as we have all been raised in an environment that has taught us to rely on others to fulfill our needs. Most of us are forced to play follow the leader in a game of see who can die with the most toys, while remaining diligent in our efforts not to piss off society in the process, I get it. An environment, which has forced us to believe that we, as unique individuals could not possibly be accepted by society, such as the leader of the “wayseer” and author of a book by the same name, goes to great lengths to point out.

I know, as I am certain many others do that this is not a fact. Although we may be forced to live in a way that is socially acceptable, changes have been and continue to be made by individuals who are leaders and not followers and one day the populace will come to see and accept “our gifts”.

Until then, unfortunately, you will have do just like the rest of us, suck it up and move on as I do not believe there will ever be any sort of “real leader” that can make life better for you, that is something you will have to accomplish on your own.

The author and self-appointed leader of the wayseer claims to have hundreds of thousands of followers, which frightens me because I have the distinct feeling that we will see yet another Jones town, Waco or Heaven’s Gate massacre. Although, on a lighter note, if they do kill themselves off in the hundreds of thousands it would leave more of the precious natural resources humanity needs for our continued survival.

I would suggest that the wayseers use their energy, their ideas, their unique individuality to question the powers that be, question this self appointed leader, force him to show you what lies beneath his reason for starting such a movement. Remember that the leaders, who made the most progress in changing our way of thinking, did so quietly, you know the individuals who appear in the video. Mother Theresa did not ask for your money, Martin Luther King did not ask you to buy his books and Gandhi did not claim to know you or ask you to become a part of his tribe. I too believe that your gifts, our gifts can be used to change the world but I think it is obvious based on the historical evidence that following such a leader or movement is not the way to do it.

I'm shipping up to Boston...

Yup, it is that time of the year again, that awesome season of summer where I get to feel like a mom again. I will be heading out at the end of June to ( find my wooden leg) ok, pick up my wonderful little boy Tavis and bring him back to Texas for a fun filled summer of swimming and sunning. One of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do in my life time was leave my boy’s in Massachusetts when I headed west to chase.

The decision to leave him behind when I left Massachusetts, was not made lightly and I only agreed to it because my boy told me that he really wanted to spend the school portion of the year with his father in Massachusetts. I understood, since that is where his friends are and that is where he wants to attend school. As some know, there are other reasons why I left, but I will not post it here. As much as it bothered me to agree with him, I also realized that a divorce is tough enough on a child to begin with, therefore a child should not have to deal with his or her parents fighting like starving dogs fighting over a piece of meat. Making the child nothing more than a pawn in their little game of pain and suffering.

I believe that is the situation with most parents’ who divorce and I believe that it is childish of them to use their children as a pawn in their little game. As much as I did not want to do it, I realized that I am the adult here and I needed to act like one. It is not the best situation as I miss both my boys desperately, but I am aware that my decision is what is best for everyone involved, especially my boys.

My decision concerning my oldest was much easier, as Korben desperately needs to live close to his doctors in Boston, because for him, it is more of a life or death situation, given his current health issues. I have not yet had a chance to bring him to Texas, as he is still not ready to travel, but that day will come. However, for him, I make special trips back to Boston and spend weeks at a time by his side such as I will doing this fall, but that will wait for another blog post.

In addition to that, I will be going straight to Boston to spend a week with a dear friend of mine who I love and fight with just as I would any relative of mine, and that is why I call her my sister. It has been at least two years since she and I have hung out, and I am really looking forward to catching up and possibly spending an afternoon walking the beach and swimming. I am seriously going to miss Shane, but it will be a fun week nonetheless and I cannot wait.

The tickets have been purchased and soon the packing will commence, until then however, it is back to algebra for me.

Tornadoes Rip a Path of Destruction through Western Massachusetts. Pt 2

Last night Shane decided to surf youtube in search of videos from the June 1, 2011 tornadoes in Massachusetts. In his search, he came across the video located here and as I watched it alongside of him, I found myself becoming more and more disappointed by what I was seeing; because although I did see a fair amount of this broadcast live, I did not actually see the first 10 or 15 minutes of it. I have this video posted on FB where there is an ongoing conversation about how ignorant these TV meteorologists appear to be as they are reporting the situation.

What I find so disappointing is that these meteorologists are looking at a radar signature that clearly calls for a little more urgency then they appear to be showing. It was at that moment that (I believe), they should have been warning people in the area to take cover however, they do not. Then they go to the live video, which I am assuming is coming from a camera sitting at the top of their broadcast station, where it is obvious to me that there is already a tornado in progress. However, giving them the benefit of the doubt, and realizing this is something they are not use to seeing, I can let it go for the first two or three seconds, however, it is clear by: 33 that they were looking at a tornado on the ground. What do these guys do instead of reporting the obvious; they continue to debate the situation for close to a minute, before they state that yes a tornado is on the ground and at that point causing damage. Worse of all, they do not even correctly report where the tornado is located.

If you look closely, even the untrained eye can see the wall cloud is rapidly rotating; there is debris on the ground and scud moving into the base, yes folks, that is a tornado in progress. Between: 39 and: 43 (I am referring to seconds here) you would have to be blind not to notice the tornado; however, they do not actually call the tornado until 1:11. By that time, it is too late, because folks whom were watching the broadcast and relying on them for necessary life saving information have absolutely no time to take cover and some have already been hit.

Had this been spotters from Western Mass, I would be slightly more understanding of the situation, because no matter how much I preach about the fact that tornadoes do happen in Mass, the truth is that most never see this sort of obvious progression. These are trained meteorologists, they go to school to learn about the weather how could they have missed something like this!!!!

If you are thinking Bridget, cut them some slack, we all make mistakes, I say bullocks, my family and my friends live in Massachusetts, they are not use to this sort of situation and they rely on these folks for the information they need to survive. I am extremely thankful that all are safe and I am astonished that only four people died, but I am concerned that when this happens again the outcome might not be so positive.

Tornadoes do happen in Massachusetts, on average Massachusetts sees approximately three tornadoes a year and at least one of them will be large and destructive. It is high time that the people who Massachusetts residents rely on for this information, learn the warning signs and learn how to properly report such a situation. The fact that weather enthusiasts, not chasers, living in other parts of the country were screaming at their computer screens (TORNADO ON THE GROUND, WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE); while the meteorologists were trying to decide if they were looking a rotating wall cloud or not, tells me that these guys still have a lot to learn. I have a saying, “1000 false alarms are worth it, when the one that saves your life comes over the airwaves”, don’t believe me, just ask those who lost their lives on June 1, 2011 or better yet, ask those they left behind if they would have done things differently, had they known what was coming.

On a positive note, I have learned that yes, there are tornado sirens located at the University of Massachusetts, while this is undoubtedly a good thing, more needs to come from it. Government officials need to take the same initiative as the folks at UMass and place tornado sirens throughout Massachusetts. The aftermath of a tornado can be devastating, property loss can leave several citizens homeless, but that is something that can be helped through the generous nature of citizens throughout the country who donate to the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and other nonprofit organizations. However, these people no matter how generous they are cannot replace the lives of those who are lost. The only way one can survive is to be aware, be informed and PURCHASE A BLOODY WEATHER RADIO, because one of these silly and sometimes annoying devices can and do save lives.

Tornadoes Rip a Path of Destruction through Western Massachusetts.

Yes, as unbelievable as it may seem, there were 7 tornadoes reported in Massachusetts yesterday, June 1, 2011. As most people know, I am a native of Western Massachusetts, I moved to Oklahoma and eventually Texas three years ago because of the crazy desire, I have to chase tornadoes. I realized that living in Massachusetts would not offer me the same opportunities to chase, as I would have in the plains so I packed my bags back in '08 and I left. Despite yesterdays 7 tornadoes in Massachusetts that I missed, I have seen over 50 since I moved out here. This includes the Rice Texas Tornado, pictured above. That shot was taken as I sat in the car with the tornado about a ¼ mile to my SE and one in which we possesses some of the most amazing video ever shot of a tornado, although very few people are aware of that thanks to the “I’m in the tornado guy”.

I was informed of the situation unfolding in Western Mass via a text message that Shane had sent me, stating that a tornado was reported in West Springfield. Considering I once lived in West Springfield and that I have friends and family living in the area, I became as one could imagine, understandably concerned and immediately grabbed my phone and started calling everyone I knew back in Mass. What I learned when talking to one friend was that, not only was West Springfield hit in the exact area where I lived back in ’01, but that the situation was still unfolding.The link above will take you to one of the most heartbreaking news stories I have seen so far, our prayers are with the survivors.

My friend, Bill, suggested that I hop on line and check WWLP channel 22 as there was video shot of the tornado as it passed by the news station. I visited the web site and sure enough, there was video of an impressive looking tornado as it ripped a path of destruction in yet another area of Massachusetts that I once lived in. In addition to this video, there was live coverage of the event as well as a chat room of sorts where people were discussing the event.

I saw two women in the chatroom on WWLP Channel 22 website, both understandably frightened and both of whom stated I am in Chicopee, I am home alone with my children and I am scared… what do I do. Well ladies, my heart goes out to the two of you, however, the information that you were looking for does and has always existed here , please read it, everyone, as these tips will help you to remain calm and be prepared should such a situation present itself again.

Although all of this was extremely exciting on my end, as I live for these sort of events, it was also quite disappointing and I found it frightening; how unprepared the public was and how incapable the meteorologists were of not only discussing the situation but also at giving the public the necessary life saving information they so desperately needed.

I am not knocking the folks over at channel 22, as they did the best they could with the experience they have, because tornadoes with the ability to do as much damage as was seen yesterday are rare in Massachusetts, but not unheard of. I assume the reason we have living legends such as Gary England in the plains, and radar that would put the technology in Mass to shame is due to the lack of large and destructive tornadoes and tornado emergencies in Western Mass, which deems such individuals and programs, unnecessary. So again, I am not knocking the meteorologists in Mass, I am just not use to seeing these situations handled in such a seemingly amateur way.

The fact of the matter is that large destructive tornadoes can, have and will happen again in Western Mass. This is not some dooms day prophecy or any of that sort of crap, but a fact, as we are dealing with Mother Nature here, a large, destructive and almost completely unpredictable force. All you need for such an event is the right atmospheric mixture and poof you have a tornado, and the fact that Massachusetts is situated in a valley offers you no protection, that is an old wives tale or something and one that I believe was thoroughly disproved yesterday. It has been proven wrong before, but I am assuming that too much time has passed since the June 9, 1953 Worcester F4-F5 tornado flattened parts of Worcester Massachusetts and the knowledge of this event has been since wiped from the memories of most Massachusetts residents. If you think I am making this up, follow the link or research it on your own, I think the sheer number of reported tornadoes in Massachusetts, since then, will shock you.

I was disappointed in myself for not realizing that such an event was getting ready to present itself yesterday, as Spring has been nothing more than a nightmare of devastating events which ensured that Shane and I would suffer one of the worst chase seasons ever. Ever since the morons over at the wal-mart automotive center destroyed our car, the season has been null and our tornado count for the year is shameful given the type of tornado season we have seen thus far. Therefore, I have all but ignored all forecasts and forecasting; I have instead devoted all of my time to school. For those who might read this but do not know us, we do not have government grants or major networks supporting us when we chase, we support our chase season with money made from the sale of storm chasing DVDs and any money we are able to save during the off season. Therefore, something as silly as our car being destroyed does have a devastating effect on us and our ability to chase.

The one thing that folks living in Massachusetts have going for them is the low number of reported deaths, as I am seeing a total of four so far, amazing, considering the path of destruction that was left by these tornadoes and something which everyone should be thankful for.

What you have against you is the false belief, this fairy tale that states that tornadoes do not strike Massachusetts and therefore no one really needs to take warnings and watches seriously. I am willing to bet that most people living in Massachusetts do not own a NOAA weather radio or have ever even heard of them and I know that there are no tornado sirens in Massachusetts. Even if there are, I know they are not tested and I have never heard one go off during a severe weather event.

I still remember the first time I heard one go off in Norman OK, one bright and sunny afternoon, I thought for sure we were being bombed because why else would I be hearing air raid sirens. Of course, folks out here explained that these were tornado sirens and that they are tested every Friday at noon when there is no severe weather in the area. These sirens are extremely important as they inform folks who might be working or playing outside that there is a very real possibility of a tornado touchdown in their neighborhood.

I do hope that yesterday’s events will wake the good people of Massachusetts up to the very real possibility of this happening again. I do hope that people will read the tornado safety guide which can be found here and that people will start to take both the watches and warnings offered by the SPC and the folks at your local TV stations seriously, all of which will allow people to be better prepared next time such an event occurs. In addition, I hope that government officials will give serious thought to placing tornado sirens in towns throughout Massachusetts; as they are life saving devises used during such severe weather events. Lastly, I hope this causes a rise in the sales of NOAA weather radios throughout Massachusetts, trust me folks, if you had one of these in your home, you would have been informed of the situation well in advance of it hitting your town and you would have had ample time to prepare for it.

I also hope that more people will take the spotter training classes offered throughout Massachusetts seriously as well. These classes are offered free to the public and they do explain not only what one should do during a tornado or severe weather event, but they also teach you what to look for in the case of such an event. In addition, they explain the magical atmospheric mixture that causes tornadoes to form and how to recognize a storm that can produce a tornado and finally they will answer the; OMG THE SKY IS DARK THE WINDS ARE PICKING UP THERE IS THUNDER AND LIGHTENING; WHAT DO WE DO; WHAT DOES THIS MEAN; questions.

There were major tornado outbreaks all over the country this year and in some areas entire towns were wiped off the planet and hundreds of lives were lost. These events have happened in the past, they will continue to happen and the best defense that anyone has is to be prepared. These storms are not getting any worse, this is not some onslaught of death and destruction offered up by a cruel and vengeful God, this is simply a case of the right elements coming together and of people being completely ignorant of what it means, of how to react and how to survive. The information exists folks, use it as it will teach one how to prevent tornado stupidity.

Death Ridge and New Possibilities

I think I am starting to see first hand just what this "death ridge" thing is all about. Not only does it place a hold on chases for days on end, but it slowly drives chasers insane. SDS in the middle of storm season, good god what are we being punished for? After the amazing year I had in 08 I can say that I am feeling the pain of this as much as the rest of you are. And I have my fingers crossed that I will get at least one more chance at a full condensation before the season is up. 

Until then however I have decided that it's time to explore other possibilities in my life. Growing up I had more then one passion. Considering that as a child I never believed I would get the chance to actually chase storms, I set aside that desire, and turned my attention to my other passion. That would be my fascination with the paranormal. My love for scary movies is not just  because having the shit scared out of me is fun, but also because I am drawn to the unknown. I was the kid that sat in the back of the cafeteria with books piled in front of me that delved into the possibility of UFO's, earth spirits, ghosts, and other events that seemed to defy explanation and forced people to sleep with the lights on. Yes there was a point in my life where I slept with the lights on as well. I have had my share of experiences.The difference between me and most others is that I had a thirst to find out if it was real or just my imagination. 

As I got older I found myself being drawn to people who had the same interests but sitting around talking about it did not quench the thirst or quell the desire that burned  in me to learn/understand more. These friends of mine have all moved on, some are in bands not signed as of yet, well not that I am aware of, some completely destroyed their lives, and one even moved on to be a ghost hunter, good on you Steve, but me, I did what my parents wanted me to do. 

My family was made up of mill workers, folks who never dared to do anything other then wake up every day, go to work, come home, go to bed, get up, repeat and eventually die miserable. I started to follow in those foot steps, matter of fact every member of my family at one point in time worked at the same paper mill in Holyoke Mass, "Parsons Paper". My father worked there for 36 years, my grandmother and grandfather worked there but my grandfather eventually moved on to work at a different paper Mill and died from a massive heart attack 3 weeks after he retired. My father who my only memories of him are as a miserable old man,  spent the last three years of his life in retirement and in pain from hereditary conditions worsened by over working himself. I never saw my father growing up because he was always at work, and his retirement was an early one because after a while his conditions prevented him from working. 

He spent the last three years of his life collecting stamps and kicking himself in the ass for having never lived out his dreams of becoming an architect. He did tell me in the end that he was sorry for the way our lives were, that he did his best (which I knew) and that he was sorry for leaving me with nothing more then his medical conditions, because  I am slowly developing them. 

My younger brother, who I am very close to and miss dearly, shares the same interests in the paranormal that I do. He worked at Parsons for a very long time and eventually saw his life slipping away through the bottom of a bottle of whiskey. After surviving an overdose which placed him in a coma for 6 weeks, he smartened up, realized he was given a second chance at life and I am happy to say is doing everything he can to take full advantage of it. 

My step brother spent most of his life working at parsons as well and so did my mom. He defies any sort of explanation and lives with the belief that he has the right to be a miserable prick and so I pretty much leave that alone. 

My mom is slipping away as well, but it's old age that is claiming her at this point. 

I did what my parents expected of me, I married and had kids. I worked at parsons as a secretary, but I was eventually forced to give it up and stay home to care for my ailing child. Korben is doing better then the doctors could have ever imagined. It's not a full recovery, and I honestly don't believe  it ever will be, but he is happy and as healthy as a child in his situation can be.

 All around me I could see how every ones lives were slowly coming apart at the seams and I realized I could not be a part of that. So I left and moved to Oklahoma to do what... well chase storms of course :-), finally doing what I want instead of following the flock to an early grave. 

 This death ridge from hell has forced me to take a second look at things, and I have realized that chasing is only about 3 or 4 months out of the year, it leaves an enormous amount of time to explore other avenues. I am being given a second lease on life so to speak and I have decided that I am not going to spend 8 months of the year waiting around for the next storm. I can't do that, it's a stagnant way to live and I am not cut out to deal with it. So I am going to re explore an old fascination of mine and try my hand at ghost hunting. So you are going to see this blog go from being just babblings about stormchasing to babblings about ghost hunting as well. I have no idea how far this will go, but at least in the end I can say I tried :-) Now the only question is where the hell do I start?