Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Thunderstorms

I enjoy thunderstorms.  I know they can be dangerous, though.  When Lisa and I were engaged, living in Ft. Worth, TX, we had  a real scare.  It must have been a Saturday, b/c we were both off of work.  Our respective apartments were just across the sidewalk from each other.  We were coming back to our complex from shopping when we saw a huge storm coming up.  The cloud was huge and almost black. 

By the time we got back to my (soon to be “our”) apt., the storm began to rage.  I had no radio, so I went across the courtyard to Lisa’s apt. to get her boom box.  I could barely maneuver through the wind.  I got back to our apt. and could not figure out how to use the radio.  The power was out and I figured the boom box batteries were dead.  (They weren’t.  I just couldn’t find the right switch.)

With no TV or radio, we could only wait and watch.  The storm blew out one of our windows in the stairway, leaving glass shards stuck in the opposite wall.  A serious storm.  Later we found out that it was not a tornado, but a storm with straight line winds of up to 90 mph.  Someone actually died in that storm.

Having said that, I still like storms.  I like the thunder and lightning.  I love the sound of the driving rain and the wind.  These storms are especially fun at night, offering glimpses of daylight in the chaos.

So now I’m on my porch, waiting for a storm, but it’s just sprinkling.  Come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind seeing a little sunshine before it gets dark…Surely we are caught up with rain for a while.