Terrence is wrapped up on his computer, reliving glories past while cutting seconds from the clip, forcing the moments to glide together in a hypnotic story. His headphones give his silhouette an alien appearance, and I smile at his glee.
He’s piecing together his summer of traversing the plains for tornadoes, reminiscing the power of the earth that he chases.
Dating a storm chaser can be nerve wracking at times. A conversation ceases as the weather picks up, and I watch my notifications wondering if his phone has died (usually), if he’s filming an event (often), if he’s drinking a beer (occasionally), or if something terrible has happened (thus far, no scrapes he’s come away from with too bad of scars).
Think he’s fearless yet?
Not only does he chase the weather, he’ll chase his dreams. One day on a whim, he called the Center for Severe Weather Research and talked his way into documenting the PECAN team in Kansas over the summer. This multi-million dollar research grant gathered heroes and students from the severe weather world to study nocturnal storms on the Plains.
Next thing I knew, Terrence was sending me photos from a NASA airplane, traversing the midwest one night. For an aviation geek who chases tornadoes on gravel roads in torrential rain, to be soaring above the storms with some of the best and brightest was like a piece of heaven.
I’ll freely admit, I’m not as cool as he is. Terrence will ask the questions, go gallantly forward into the unknown, push himself beyond all human reason. And somehow, he is not only willing to drag me along for the ride but to encourage me to pursue my own dreams with as much volition.
Hence, a blog. A blog to document those dreams: the dreams of a Chaser and his Barista. The dreams of travel, of tornadoes, of coffee, of careers. His love of mountains, my love of people, our addiction to the next adventure and to finding beauty right around the corner.
Tag along 🙂
