" "But what about school" I protested, for you see, I was one of those strange children who actually enjoyed going to school. "No school today, honey," my Mom said, "It's too dangerous for everyone." Now I was really worried, but thought that I would at least have an adventure with the family downstairs. We moved the candles, blankets, and all trudged downstairs. We set up a little campsite, with our ice chest full of sodas, and snacks and cookies - for breakfast even! We began to play board games, then card games, then take breaks and read aloud to each other. By around noon, though, we could barely hear anything the wind sounds were so loud. The house was shaking, and I could hear the branches of the shade trees in the background whipping round and round.

Suddenly, as if by magic, it was silent and calm. The air smelled funny, my Dad said it was something called OH-ZONE. All I know is it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. For some reason, this silence seemed to make my parents even more nervous, and they suggested we all climb into our sleeping...

Just as we all were getting settled, I remembered something from the morning. I rushed upstairs and quickly found what I was looking for. I came back down, and just before I snuggled into my sleeping bag, opened up the yellow and purple spotted umbrella and put it over my area. My Dad said, "Don't you know it's bad luck to open an umbrella indoors?" I smiled and said, "I watched Mom holding it above you this morning, protecting you and Thad from the rain and wind. If that's what it does, I want it open in case the roof blows off." He smiled, and we all fell asleep for awhile. When we woke up, we could hear drops of rain hitting the house again, but the wind was not as loud as before. The hurricane had passed, and we still had our roof. And, there protecting all of us, was the yellow and purple spotted umbrella.
To this day, whenever I hear the wind or sense an approaching storm, I think of those days when I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the yellow and purple spotted umbrella would protect us all.