As part of my quest to break my block on IWAALF, I thought I'd post the first chapter in another multi-chapter story that I'm working on. Now, I don't plan to leave a lot of unfinished mulit-chapter stories floating around, but I would really like to get this story told as well. The idea came from a writing challenge to focus on the weather. I don't own anything except the crazy imagination that came up with this rather twisted idea.
Your thoughts are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.
Before and After January
Prologue – Teach-In Weather
January 20, 2025
"Mr. Jameson makes a good argument," the professor told his three hundred person lecture class, "but it's a little too pat. And it actually wouldn't be admissible in a court of law. He actually made a common mistake; I call it the effect of too much television and vid viewing on line. When I was your age, we'd say it was because he watched too much Law and Order. Now I think one should blame CSI marathons and Court Clerk mini-sodes on Google You-Tube.
"Given the little time that we have left today, for next class read chapter eight and be prepared to cite at least one flaw with Mr. Jameson's argument. And be ready, because I will call on you."
The class gave an uneasy laugh because the professor was well known to cold call. In fact, this professor tended to use the Socratic Method a lot, so it was a bad idea to walk into his class unprepared.
"One last thing before you go. As you know, tonight is the fifteenth anniversary of the London Ice Storm of 2010. London, the University of Western Ontario, and many London natives were personally affected by this storm and the havoc it brought in its wake. It has been rightly called a disaster and some ways, we haven't gotten over it. In honor of its survivors and in memory of its victims, the university will have a teach-in panel discussion on the disaster. I am on the panel, along with Dr. Keisha Washington, Dr. Ang Yien, and Mrs. Maria Laposa – so it should be interesting to say the least. It starts at 7pm."
"Dr. Venturi?" a student in the front row asked as she raised her hand.
"Yes, I see your hand Ms. Woodberry. And no, you will not get extra credit if you attend. However," the professor added in a louder voice, "donations will be taken for the LIS-V, the London Ice Storm Victims fund. Anything you can spare is appreciated. I hope I can see you all there. I expect to see you all at our next class meeting. Have a good afternoon."
The young professor shook his head as he watched his student pack up as quickly as they could and sprint from the room. University students and high school students didn't seem so different some days, he thought. That train of thought was alternative to contemplate as he packed up his stuff and walked back to his office. Anything was better than reflecting on the program tonight and the train wreck it could be. The London Ice Storm of 2010 was still a sensitive subject for many, because of their memories and experiences of it. It was a sensitive subject for him, in a way, for that reason. His family was never the same after that storm. Dr. Keisha Washington was from the United States and didn't even come to Canada until years after the storm. In addition, Dr. Washington sometimes had what fellow colleagues called "shock jock tendencies".
He was a little worried about what she might say…and what that might lead to.
Several hours later, the Criminology and Sociology professor arrived at the large lecture hall, which was already pretty full. Walking to the front, he stopped to talk with the university community liaison, Kimberly Cambridge, who was coordinating the event. After acknowledging his colleagues on the panel, he settled into his chair…and tried to settle his stomach. He was feeling a little nervous; he assumed because his contribution to this panel was a personal story, not something in his discipline. The ice storm would always hit him closer to home than most. But overall, his nervousness was minor.
At least, it was minor until he looked back into the crowd gathering for the teach-in. Being wheeled into the back of the room was a very familiar brunette storm survivor. And, of course, her husband was the one behind the wheelchair. They hadn't told him they were coming. He wasn't even sure how they heard about it; he sure as hell didn't mention it. It was hard enough to tell his story – their shared story, if he were more honest – without them looking on.
He must have paled, because Kimberly came over to him. Following his eyes, she noticed what held the young professor's attention. "Your department head didn't tell you, did he?"
"Huh?"
Kimberly sighed. "We decided to invite the general public and the victims of the ice storm to the program tonight. A lot of them took us up on the offer," Kimberly turned back to him, "I take it that you know that survivor? I mean, being a native an all."
The professor just found himself nodding. Yeah, he knew her. He still saw her at holiday gatherings; he had seen her at the party his father and brother threw him for getting his PhD; he continued to see her at various other planned and spontaneous activities over the years. His nervousness level just shot through the roof. How would she take his version of the ice storm? They had never talked about it. Ever.
"Wait," the professor stopped Kimberly as she was about to walk off. "You've invited ice storm victims and you put Dr. Washington on the panel? Dr. Keisha "Controversy" Washington?! How will this not be PR nightmare?"
Kimberly just smiled. "I know Keisha likes to push academic buttons, mainly to make people think. She has read and written a lot in critical race theory, as you know. But trust me on this. She'll be fine in the role we have her. In a lot of ways, I don't think I could have found a better person."
Glancing at her watch, Kimberly nodded. "And on that note, I need to get ready to start this thing. Thanks again for agreeing to talk."
The professor shook his head. He was glad Kimberly was grateful, at least. He was beginning to think this was a big mistake. He wondered if he could slide out the side door before this thing got started. Maybe no one would notice?
His window opportunity disappeared as soon as Keisha walked toward to the podium. He took a deep breath, hoping this wasn't going to be really bad.
"Good evening and thank you for coming to our teach-in in memory of the London Ice Storm of 2010. My name is Dr. Keisha Washington, and I'll be serving as moderator for tonight's event. After introducing our topic and our panelist, each panelist will give a thirty to forty minute presentation. After which, we will open it up to questions prepared in advance for the panelist and from you, the audience.
"As you came in, you noticed green boxes stationed at all of the entrances. Those boxes are for donations for LIS-V, the organization and fund set up for survivors and families of the victims of the ice storms. Anything you can give is greatly appreciated.
"So, onto our topic tonight," here the black woman took a deep breath as if gearing up for something. That caused the young professor and his fellow panelists to hold their breath. "When I was initially asked to moderate this, I figured it was because I am one of the few United States citizens teaching on campus, and, therefore, couldn't possibly know anything about the storm. I also thought people figured that they could use my name to draw a crowd without giving me any room to say anything controversial."
The students and faculty members in the crowd laughed at that. The African-American professor did have a reputation of bringing controversy to almost every panel she was a part of.
"But, as I prepared for this talk, I found out that maybe I was asked to moderate because I was one of the few non London natives to understand what this storm means to everyone in London, from the long time London native to the Western freshman."
Her statement shocked the room into silence, but the young professor did notice that he and the rest of the panel were breathing a little easier. Maybe Dr. Washington wouldn't use the teach-in to make a point.
"You see, as someone from the US, born and raised in an Atlantic costal state, I understand how storms can change your life forever in a heartbeat. My extended family was directly touched by Katrina, a name that will continue to remain huge in the consciousness of citizens of the United States.
"But, more than that. Other storms affected my life, directly touched me in life-changing ways. Storms with names like Isobel and Gaston. Those names, those storms, in part shaped who I am. They changed my family, my friends. Even more minor storms like Bonnie and Andrew have marked me.
"In a way, however, I am one of the lucky ones. The storms that stormed through my life had names. Friends and family often told stories of devastating storms with no names. The blizzard of '96. The ice storm of '98. The winter of '08. The tornado that wiped our town off the map. That summer. That fall. That winter. They explained to me that, in some ways, without a name it was hard to explain the storm's impact to others or to keep it a part of collective consciousness. I could say Isobel and people would have a starting point. Saying "that tornado" or "that ice storm" often, unfairly, made the pain they suffered from their storm less important than the pain I suffered from mine.
"Because of that, because I understand and don't understand what a storm can do, I realized that I was a good person to moderate this panel. Nothing I could say about the ice storm of 2010 would seem valid. I wasn't even in the country in 2010 and, while people and institutions see race, natural disasters do not. There was no way I could add to the conversation, but no one more than me could see the need to have the conversation, while being objective enough to be sure that it stayed a helpful conversation and not morph into something else because of the emotion involved."
The young professor stared at the woman at the podium in shock. He hadn't expected her to be sensitive to the issue or even have any idea why her presence had made people nervous. It seemed like Keisha was much more aware of her surroundings than he'd given her credit for.
"Now, I'd like to introduce our panelist in the order they'll be speaking. First, we have Dr. Ang Yien. A full professor in our Biology department, Dr. Yien comes to us with a varied background, in both academia and in the governmental sector around the environment, biology, and weather. Most important for our purposes tonight, Dr. Yien worked for the Meteorological Service of Canada, or the MSC, from 2009 to 2013. Dr. Yien will share with us information about the storm in the meteorological sense, as a background to what happened over those four days the storm raged.
"Next, we have Dr. Edwin Venturi. Dr. Venturi is one of our newest faculty members in the Sociology department, with specialization in the areas of criminology, symbolic interactionism, and symbolic boundaries. Although his sociological insight is impressive, it is his insight as a London native that he'll share with us tonight. As any qualitative social scientist will tell you, numbers never tell you the whole story. You have to talk with people on the ground to understand a situation. We are indebted and grateful to Dr. Venturi for sharing that insight with us.
"Finally, we have one of most respected historians, Mrs. Maria Laposa. Mrs. Laposa has worked with the London Historical Society for over twenty years. Last week, the society opened an exhibit on the Ice Storm and its continued effect on the city of London, Ontario. Tonight, she'll share with us some of the historical and social impact of the storm we are discussing tonight."
As Keisha finished up her introduction and the polite applause began as Dr. Yien walked to the podium, Dr. Edwin Venturi tried to re-order his thoughts. Tonight he was going to tell his story, their story, the McDonald-Venturi story about all the good, bad and ugly the storm brought.
For the first time in years, he found himself wishing for the practically invisibility he'd had as a middle child. All eyes would be on him tonight, including his…and hers.