I'm Not Making This Up

Fish rain from sky in Texarkana

by: Carolyn Roy

Posted: Dec 29, 2021 / 06:43 PM CST / Updated: Dec 29, 2021 / 11:33 PM CST

TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – It “rained fish” for a few minutes in Texarkana Wednesday afternoon as storms moved through the area.

It happened around 4:30 p.m., according to James Audirsch, who works at the Orr Maxx used car dealership on Summerhill Road. He says he and his co-worker Brad Pratt heard loud noises and looked outside only to see fish falling from the sky.

“There was a loud crack of thunder and when we opened up the bay door, I looked outside and it was raining real hard and a fish hit the ground, and then I said, ‘It’s raining fish!’ Brad was like, ‘No it’s not,’ and I’m like, “No, it really is!'” and fish were droppin’ here and everywhere.”

Small fish could be seen sprinkled throughout the parking lot of the dealership, as well as the one across the street and the tire shop next door. Some were 4-5 inches long and appeared to be young white bass.

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo: KTAL/KMSS Staff)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo: KTAL/KMSS staff))

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo: KTAL/KMSS Staff)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo: KTAL/KMSS Staff)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo: KTAL/KMSS Staff)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

“Raining fish” is believed to be the result of a rare meteorological phenomenon in which a water spout moving over water sucks up small creatures such as fish and frogs, carrying them along until they lose steam before dropping their stunned passengers.

Strong winds created by tornadoes or hurricanes can also send small species raining from the sky, according to the Library of Congress.

Similar incidents have been reported in which frogs and toads have also been seen falling from the sky. In 2017, fish fell from the sky over an elementary school in California.

The Tornado Siren

It is no secret Polly is a bit of a weather nerd. In the 14 days we've been here, she's had plenty of opportunities to embrace her passion for high and low pressure systems. On Christmas it was warmer here than where my brother lives in Boca Raton (80 degrees). It is supposed to be a high of 40 on Sunday, which is fine by me, because I'm kinda sorta tired of warm temps. Plus the rain comes out of nowhere. NOWHERE! 

I'm realizing now how spoiled Arizonans are when it comes to such things. We don't need to check the weather on an hourly basis to see if an umbrella is needed. Which reminds me, I really should pick one of those things up. 

Anyway, back to Polly. Yesterday after mild temps, the clouds started to darken, a little bit of water was spitting from the sky and Polly began checking for tornado alerts. She announced to all of us, if there is an issue we were to immediately drop what we were doing and go huddle in the hall bathroom. "Please make sure you've unpacked it by then," was my answer. To be fair, while walking around Home Depot the other day, she alerted us to where their storm shelter was too, so this type of announcement wasn't new to us. 

As the clouds grew darker, she started asking my opinion. "Do those look like tornado clouds?" I wasn't sure what answer she was looking for. The only tornado I'd ever lived through happened at night. And besides, I am not sure what a "tornado cloud" looks like. 

"Possibly," I offered. Polly was delighted. She ran around closing windows, re-instructing us on how to take shelter if the moment should arise. "Don't forget to unpack your bathroom," I replied as I worked on unloading boxes in the kitchen. 

An hour later, the drama subsided. Polly, disappointed, called me to the window ("We don't open the doors during tornado warnings, Mom." "Dear, I'm pretty sure there wasn't a warning." "Don't mess with this level of danger, Mom.") to show me where the clouds are parting and the sun was shining. Marty hadn't left the garage, where he was putting up shelving. Buckaroo was still assembling the kitchen chairs. We now have silverware in a drawer but the coffee maker is MIA. The hall bath still hadn't been unpacked, I guess allowing us to sit on boxes if we were going to hunker down in there at a later date. 

Queen Regina

 On Monday morning, my back aching from sleeping on the floor and tired of having to run to the dollar store for the basics (in this case band-aids because we had to buy a kitchen knife and it was a bit sharp), I called U-Haul to ask if I could get my stuff early. After all, what does "some time in January" truly mean? 

I will spare you the drama, but needless to say, U-Haul made a few mistakes along the way and our stuff was being held for ransom--unfortunately, nobody managed to tell me this until I called. Otherwise we could have had our worldly belongings before Christmas. 

Anyway, after an hour, I talked to Regina. She was the first person I spoke to who didn't brush me off, transfer me or explain that she simply couldn't help me. In fact, she did help. She took care of the basic issue (they wanted payment--but neglected to tell me this. In my defense, I thought I paid when it was delivered). When we were done, I asked to speak to her manager. I wanted to praise Regina for being so awesome. Anyone who can put up with my cranky-sore-back-I've-been-on-hold-and-transferred-to-who-knows-where voice and not flinch deserves high praise.  

When Regina's manager came on, I made sure to focus on Regina and how I'd been shuffled around and had not even realized there was an issue at all until Regina took charge. Perhaps Ms. Manager sensed my frustration or perhaps it was because I asked to speak with her and all I did was speak kindly about my experience with her employee. Whatever the case, Ms. Manager started tapping on her computer, made some magic happen and our stuff was delivered the very next day. 

My back is grateful. 

Random Texarkana

I've been in Texas for a week. For the most part, I'm trying to stay off of the Internet and be present to this new life. At least while everyone is home. Marty starts his new job next week. The kids start school soon after. They can't look for jobs because their birth certificates and other identification were mistakenly put in Pods that are somewhere between Arizona and Texarkana; promised to us, "sometime in January." 

We are currently living out of suitcases and are missing some basics that were supposed to come with us in the Uhaul--thanks to our enthusiastic movers who took boxes they shouldn't have and loaded them into the Pods. We have clothing. We don't have flatware, but are making due with the Dollar Tree's plastic forks and knives. We have glasses now that I went to Goodwill and bought a matching set of seven. We have a cast iron pan because someone on the Nextdoor App was giving one away. Otherwise, we would have just had a Corningware baking dish and two cookie sheets. We have blankets (it was 80 degrees yesterday) and Luna's toys. But we don't have sheets and lamps, neither of which I'm willing to buy for short-term use. So, the adventure continues. 

There's a lot to process of this new life. Most of it is figuring out this, "new" way of doing/going/finding whatever. I thought I'd do a lot of comparing to the way of life I left and what I knew for the past 53 years. I haven't. Instead I feel like I'm just immersing myself in the different. 

Mesa seems like a murky dream at this point, and I find that slightly disturbing how easily I am leaving my life in Arizona behind. I miss my family and friends--all of you. You three readers (even you in DC) I think of often. But I don't miss that life, if it makes any sense. 

Texarkana is an interesting place, in the sense it is nothing I'm used to. We live in a suburb--more on that in a future blog--but are right on the edge of town. Dairy is pricy, but veggies and meat are not. And don't even get me started on under $3.00 a gallon gasoline! Services, like lawncare and yoga studios, seem to be more expensive. Everyone values their time more. 

I think I can live here, at least for five years, which is how long I will commit to at this time, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Maybe longer. There are some smaller-city concerns, like zoning, that make me cringe. But I like the fact Texarkana is quiet and everyone seems kind and friendly. I like my neighborhood. I like the fact I don't have heavy traffic, litter, pollution and "big city" kinds of issues. 

A Weekend in Texas

There's a squirrel on the
other side of that window. 

We got here around 5 p.m. Friday. Marty Sunshine  described our trip best when he said, "Anyone who travels across country with a cat is crazy." 

Friday night everyone got to see their new house for the first time. I'm pleased they like it. That night, we unloaded the Uhaul, ran over to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought dishes and towels and celebrated Marty's birthday with a late dinner. Then Buckroo and I put up the Christmas tree. 

Now it's Sunday morning, and I'm sitting in my new Texas home, nursing a sore throat. Marty is puttering around somewhere and the young adults are making a donut run. Finn is sulking and Luna is circling us, vacillating between wanting to run around the back yard in the cold--where a pesky squirrel is tormenting her--and hoping if she hints enough we will let her on the couch.

Most of our belongings are on pods somewhere and we've been promised them by mid-January.  Apparently those in the freight industry don't work the last two weeks of the year. Yesterday I met a guy who I can hire to help us unload our furniture whenever it arrives. He's also been hired to take care of the drainage in our yard and install a ramp to our storage shed. I like having A Guy. 

Right now most of our boxes we brought with us have been unpacked and this year's Christmas tree has been put up. Trash comes tomorrow so we will finish unpacking. 

Homeless

Our Mesa home closed today and now someone else owns it. I have emotions around that, but I'm too tired to explore them now. We still have possession until Friday, which is great because Art The Plumber has been working on the water leak that started yesterday--when I owned this house. As much as I would like to have passed this off on the new owners, there are reasons I didn't. More importantly, hopefully I will have water for the first time in 24 hours at some point. A shower awaits. 

All of our worldly possessions are in one of three places: packed in my living room (which is where I am, on the couch that was brought up from the basement) waiting for the uhaul tomorrow or in a pod on its way to Texas--this includes most of our furniture and who knows what else. We will see the pods, "on or before January 7." I can't find the Christmas presents, so we might be celebrating a tad late this year. Apparently Buckaroo put all his clothes into the pods as well, so he might be wearing the same outfit for the next three weeks.  

The third place we have our belongings is on a truck right now. We shipped two of our cars. My friend Wendy was over when this happened today. The sketchy-looking drivers showed up, a bit disorganized (insisting the cars were going to Dallas) and I was pleased the neighborhood children were nowhere nearby. They spoke as much English as I did Spanish, so our conversation had a few holes. Buckaroo took covert pictures of their ADOT number and license plates. One of the drivers dropped a document stated, "released on recognizance," that was in his possession and provided his parole officer. Additionally, the drivers were adamant I hand over the titles to the cars--I didn't. Wendy theorizes I have a 50/50 chance of getting my cars again. I am not sure I disagree. 

Right now the rest of the family is grabbing dinner while I babysit Art The Plumber. Tomorrow we load the Uhaul, drug the cat and head East.  

Home to House

I've been processing the new home we've bought. I think it will do. For now. Or maybe for a longer now. I bought because of the location. The house is a mile from Marty's new job. It is close to everything we need (except Trader Joe's--that's in Dallas). The neighborhood is desirable, clean and well-maintained. The house has a few flaws I don't care for (like lack of storage and it needs another room). But those can be fixed. I can't fix location. 

Incidentally, the house is fine. The home inspection came back clean. And that is saying something for a 17 year old house. Our list of repairs was this: have the HVAC serviced and have the place professionally cleaned. That's it. There was no broken widget. No flux capacitor that needed to be replaced. The roof is great. The plumbing and electrical were flawless. 

My true issue with my new house is it isn't my home in Mesa. I love the house I live in now. I raised my babies here. It has been a great place for my Littles and a new generation of Littles to play hide and go seek and build forts. My kids learned to swim and read in our home. There was tears, laughter and a lot of love shelled out here. 

Every morning I look at the Texarkana house inventory to see if we missed out on a better house. So far we haven't. From what I can tell we got the best house for the money, and for that I'm grateful. I just hope it can be a home. 

Unemployed

 Yesterday, after more than 9,000 days, Marty Sunshine left his job. I asked him if he had any regrets and wanted to go back. Nope. He's good. His interactions and meetings this past week with New Boss solidified his decision, with the rest of Marty's team encouraging him to run as far as possible. Incidentally, New Boss is losing three more people before mid-January--two of whom aren't giving their two week notice until the last week of December when the office is closed.   

It was also Polly's last day at her job--a bittersweet moment for her. She wasn't there too long but loved her job.   

Buck's last day is Friday, only because Marty and I insisted he quit a week before the move so he could help us. I'm also sorry he has to quit. He has really grown with this job. 

   

My Day with Dad

In addition to trying to pack up my house, coordinate 2 zillion things and say good bye to lots of folks, I've been on Dad-sitting duty for the past two days. I don't mind Dad-sitting, but the necessity came at a really bad time. And before someone asks, I would like to clarify: Squirrel and I have tried bringing in others to Dad-sit. I doesn't go well. 

Yesterday I took Dad to the Phoenix Genealogical Society meeting in downtown Phoenix. Dad doesn't drive any more and hadn't made a meeting since May. Before that he hadn't missed a meeting in five years. 

When I went to pick him up I noticed he was wearing long pants and his dress sandals. His hair was sorta-combed and he was hoping I wouldn't notice he didn't have his cane as he walked out the door (I noticed). He was complete with a binder full of notes. When we arrived, he asked me to pull up to the curb instead of parking the handicapper spot, lest his peeps saw him in that kind of compromising position.   

Turns out Dad is kind of a demigod with this gang. I knew he'd completed my family history back to the 1500s but I had no idea how well regarded he was among the genealogical-types. 

Dad walked in to people shouting his name. Think Norm from Cheers, but with senior-citizen family historians. He took his rightful place in the front middle and introduced me as, "This is my daughter. She's moving to Texas," which then became my name for the rest of the meeting.  

Dad was chatty--chatty for Dad--and reminisced with two women about a few interesting tid-bits that I wasn't aware. Such as my father did construction work at the sanitarium in Fairfield or Pitsfield VT--I missed that part. I was too busy watching Dad be social (My brother called me a liar when I reported this). When it came time to vote on next month's topic (haunted cemeteries along Route 66 or haunted hotels along Route 66), he had an opinion (it was unanimous--cemeteries). 

Squirrel and I were a bit concerned how tired he would be after the meeting, but Dad did well. I'm guessing he went home and slept the rest of the day. Squirrel took the late afternoon/evening shift so I'm sure I will get a report eventually. 

As for me, I had a blast learning a bit more about my father and our family history. I was also pleased he remembered I was moving to Texas, because last week, he'd completely forgotten. Today we have breakfast and a doctor's appointment. That won't be nearly as fun for Dad or me. But I'm happy to do it.  

After 18 Years

 

I closed my brokerage today and placed my license as inactive. 

At some point I will be ok. But not yet. 

Texarkana First Impressions

I made it back from my Texarkana trip with a a bit more confidence about this move. We have a house that will work for us. It has some imperfections (no linen closet--which will be remedied after we move in) and it has many pluses--including it was for sale. That isn't something one finds very often these days. There were five offers, ours was chosen. 

We also now have appliances, which were bought on Friday afternoon after dragging Bliz, once again, back to Home Depot and Lowes. By the way, Texarkana has a Home Depot and a Lowes. Also by the way, the sales folks at Home Depot and Lowes were concerned I was moving there from California. Read what you want into that.

Texarkana also has alligators. I saw one on Saturday. It was in the water, I was up on a bluff, overlooking the lake, eating a sandwich after dropping Bliz off at the airport. 

The airport is all the way across town (to the East) from my new house: 8 miles. 

The lake where the alligator lives is also across town (this time to the North): 8 miles. 

The Mexican food is meh--at least at the place Bliz and I went. There seems to be a few places to chose from. 

The city of Texarkana offers a much slower pace. I was able to turn left in heavy traffic without endangering my life. In fact, "heavy traffic" means three cars on the highway. Drivers are courteous on the road, everyone takes turns and not once was there a car on my bumper. I wouldn't swear to it, but it might be a law there to wave to other drivers as they pass each other through the traffic circles. There was no litter or graffiti that I saw--something that seems to be running rampant here in Mesa. They don't have a Costco, but they have a Sam's Club. They also have the world's smallest Hobby Lobby. 

Oh yes! In the four days I was driving around I used up a third of a tank of gas. When I went to fill up the rental car, the gas price was $2.79 a gallon. 

Decisions

 A friend who had spent many years overseas once told me that when they moved back to the US, they spent as much emotional energy on buying a minivan as they did buying a toaster. 

As I stood in Lowes today, looking at the rows of appliances, I thought of my friend. All the washers and dryers looked alike. Would the LG hold up better cleaning Buckaroo's stinky socks? Would the Maytag's delicate cycle be gentle enough to handle Polly's dresses? Did I need new fangled technology or would the traditional model work just as well? And let's talk about freezers and refrigerators while we're at it! 

Bliz, who was kind enough to come with me on this trip, watched my head explode right in front of the stove display. She offered no opinion, and probably was secretly recording the entire thing so that someday I will be Youtube famous. 

I feel like all I have done for the past week is make decisions. What to pack. What to throw out. Who to call for help. Where to live. What to buy. When to sign. Every decision has the same weight. There is more of this kind of thing to come. I am honestly overwhelmed. Today the mover's representative hung up on me when I asked her to call back next Monday because I just did not know what I needed and when. It wasn't her turn for a decision. I was still suck on what color of white I wanted my dryer to be. By the way, in the end I didn't buy any appliances, which means I will be back at the store tomorrow for round two. 

This Got Real

Our home closes two weeks from today. 

The home we put an offer in on in Texarkana closes on the 17th. 

My home inspection is later this week--when I will actually see the house for the first time too. There were five offers on the house. Given there are only three homes for sale in the area in my price range and the other two are still available, I'm feeling ok about the house. 

That Stung

 I resigned from the Grievance Committee yesterday. 

House Hunting

Sometime next week, I'm flying to Texarkana to look for a home. This is a true labor of love at this point because there is very little inventory available in December anyway. But on top of that, living in a city of 60,000 in the budget I want to spend means there is about three houses to chose from. 

Additionally, though I am trying, I'm not a fan of my agent. The agent was a gift and a close personal friend of the president of Marty's new company. She also is the broker for one of the two real estate companies in town. This agent is sweet and all Southern Hostess but she can't stop talking for three seconds to let me get a word in edgewise. Plus she isn't much of a listener. 

I told her my budget. She tells me my budget only allows for homes that need updating. "What is updating in your book?" I asked her. "Not updated homes don't have granite counters," was her reply. That's perfect because I am one of the only people I know who doesn't like granite. I said so, but she didn't hear. She was busy leading me to homes $150,000 more than my budget. 

She also was shoving 3,000 square foot homes in front of me. "I'd like something between 1,600 and 2,000 square feet." 

"Really? That's pretty small." Says who? That "small" home doesn't have to have the maintenance price tag of a home 1,000 square feet bigger. I'm not cooling, heating or paying taxes or insurance on a house that will probably be too big to fit our needs. 

Finally, she though she understood my thoughts and directed me to a dump she thought I could get it for $15,000 less than advertised. Now, truly, the price isn't my issue. I can qualify for whatever I want to qualify for. My budget is set by Marty and me. 

In the case of this dump, she was worried I wouldn't like the workshop in the back. That might make the house, "too big." As it turns out, I like to refinish furniture (something I'd tell her if she'd SHUT UP for three seconds). But that house was truly a dump. There was no mistaking this place as anything other than a redneck zone on a good day and a ghetto on a bad day. She thought it would be "great" for me because it wasn't 3,000 square feet and didn't have granite counters. 

In an effort to save my sanity, my dear friend Bliz is meeting me in Texarkana to come house hunting with me. She will be my voice of reason. And perhaps she may be my alibi if all does not go well.   

FAQ

 In the last 11 days, I have been asked many of the same questions. It is interesting to me to see what people are curious about. Nobody has outright asked me how I feel about this (I'm ok). Most of my answers are standard. My last answer fluctuates, but the long version is below. 

Q: Texarkana, where's that? 

A: On the Texas and Arkansas state line. Its is half way between Dallas and Little Rock.

 

Q: Why Texarkana? 

A: That's where Marty got a job. 

Q: Have you been to Texarkana before? 

A: Yes, but not as a tourist. 

Q: Are the kids (who are young adults) coming? 

A: For now. One has announced plans of flying the nest sooner than I expected. 

Q: How did the kids take the news?

A: One was thrilled. One is struggling a bit more but has also expressed excitement at a new adventure. The struggling one has said there is a move to Dallas in that one's near future. 

Q: Will you sell real estate over there? 

A: I don't know. 

Q: What will you do over there? (generally referring to selling real estate or other forms of employment). 

A: I don't know. I will figure it out later. 

Q: What about your father? 

A: I plan to come back regularly to see my dad and help out my brother. 

Q: What is the hardest part of leaving?

A: I can honestly say there is no single "hardest part." Leaving my roots, the people I love, guiding my family through them leaving their roots and people they love tend to be my rotating answers. 

Q: Do you have a place to live? 

A: No.

Q: What is your biggest fear right now? 

A: Being homeless when we arrive in late December. In a close second place for biggest fear, Marty or the kids just outright rejecting this move. 

Q: Do you have a lot to do? 

A: YES!!!!! 

Q: What about your real estate brokerage here?

A: I am closing it on or around November 30, provided my last home in escrow closes on the 29th. 

Q: Are you excited? 

A: I am sure I will be. Right now there's a lot of anxiety and overwhelm. Once that is settled, I will focus on this new adventure. Texarkana wasn't a place I would have purposely picked so there is a lot of unknowns. But as a friend once said, I'm a, "bloom where you're planted," kind of person. I can see me being ok. Besides, if it doesn't work out, we go on to another adventure. There's some freedom in knowing that. 

Progress

Yesterday Marty and I cleaned out the garage in anticipation of eventually using that area to stage whatever it is we've packed. We took two loads to Goodwill. We filled up our trash can and the neighbor's can as well. I put our wooden filing cabinet up on on social media, just in case someone wants it. And then I packed two boxes. 

Maybe today I will pack two more. 

I have lists for everything. 

Get a mobile vet to our home to evaluate Finn and prescribe kitty-cocktails so that we can effectively move him. (December 10)

Open house for family and friends  (December 12). Come on over--it is probably going to be word-of-mouth invite at this time. Forgive me. 

Finish Luna's obedience training (November 22)

Make pies, deviled eggs and banana bread for Thanksgiving (November 24) 

Finish my last real estate sale and close my brokerage (November 30). 

Find a house in Texarkana to move into right before Christmas that will have electricity and water and dare-I-say-it: Internet. 

Sell and donate what won't fit into the mythical house in Texarkana. 

Figure out how our belongings are going to get to Texarkana. 

Sort through 18 years of household treasures, junk and trash that I don't necessarily want to keep. 

And the list goes on. 

But please, show up on December 12.