Bunker Down!

So I have been sitting on this information for a while now, waiting to see when a perfect time would be to share it. Since it is still Tornado season pt. 2 (of at least 3 parts) in the South, I decided to now share this. In the Southern United States, there is a famous meteorologist named James Spann. When I lived in Alabama, he was and is the most trusted in weather mapping and tracking. When he says the words, "Bunker down!" then you know that the storm has now turned into a tornado or hurricane (depends on the part of Alabama you are in). When you are in the south, bunker down means to go to the basement of your or a neighbor's home put on the bike helmets, get to the point where it has the most distance away from the outside, and hold each other tightly until the storm passes over.

You might be wondering where I am going with this, and I am glad I have gotten your interest. Here in Switzerland, they have the South beat when it comes to "bunker down." Here, every house and every big building had to have a bomb bunker. That is until the 1990's when they no longer had to build the bunkers.

Y'all let me tell you, it is like going back in time when I walk into the bunker in the church that we work with. They have now changed it into a storage room where they hold items for different ministries. Even though they have lights and all, it is still pretty creepy being down there. The lights are motion sensor lights and sometimes they do not come on immediately as you walk into the room, so, if you know me, this creeps me out. It is a really neat experience to see a bomb shelter, made because of the Cold War (hey, Switzerland may be neutral, but they are not stupid). The one in the church is pretty big because it had to hold many people in case war broke out during the services. It has a couple of rooms and they remind me of my Grandparents' homes. With the wood paneling on the walls and the bright yellow of the blast doors. It makes it for a throwback (and if war happened and you didn't close the door, it really would be a throwback... sorry probably a bit morbid).

I find this interesting since, in the States, we do not have these except in really rare and old places. These are not really accessible to the public, that is if the public even knows that they are there. Ours are old and filled with military rations from the 1960s and have not been updated or kept up. In the case of emergency and war, Switzerland is good to go with the bunkers and the States not so much, but, besides Japan and terrorists, who is really (trying to be PC) unintelligent enough to attack the USA?

Anyways, there is an interesting factoid for my friends and family in the States! Have a wonderful July 5!