Friday, July 06, 2012

And the Thunder Rolls

We finally experienced a thunderstorm of epic proportions, yesterday. The Man-Cub and I were in Hooterville when the storm broke and we spent ten minutes sheltered under the cover of a gas station island before braving the downpour for the drive home.

And, what a drive it was.

The rain was coming down so hard and fast, the storm drains couldn't keep up, and a deluge of water flooded the main intersection, downtown. The Man-Cub got quite a thrill out of watching large trucks plow through the water, showering their neighbors with tidal wave after tidal wave; while feeling a bit remorseful for the compact cars that seemed to momentarily float while attempting to cross at the flood below the street light.

The heavy downpour was accompanied by a light show to rival anything we could have seen on the 4th, and, the booming of the thunder was so loud, it shook my Tahoe. The drive home took a bit longer than usual but, the smell of the rain was more than enough to make up for the lost minutes.

Well, that and the amazing double rainbow that crossed the sky once the shower abated.

The weather forecast for today calls for more rain but, I doubt we will experience anything as dramatic as yesterday's storm, unfortunately.

The storm brought to mind afternoons in my childhood, when thunderstorms would roll across town, predictably, every summer afternoon. My sister and I would dance in puddles on the sidewalk in front of our house and, when completely dizzy from spinning in circles; would hunt worms that had gotten stranded in the gutters when the deluge of rainwater dried to tiny rivulet running toward the storm drain at the end of the block.

Some afternoons, we cursed the rain for ruining our outdoor forts; shelters built of blankets that my mother preferred not to have drenched by the storm. Other days, we lazily watched the downpour while tucked under the branches of the lilac trees in the back yard, safe, dry, and peaceful. A bright sunshine almost always broke through the storm by early evening and we breathed in the smell of the rapidly evaporating raindrops mixed with the smell of the damp earth.

When the Cub and I finally reached the safety of home, yesterday, he ran into the backyard to search the garden for worms to use when fishing at the pond in the park later this weekend. I sat on the porch for a while and watched as the last drops of the storm scattered across the driveway and; I thought about two little girls in pigtails, dancing in the puddles left behind by a thunderstorm.

It was a pretty great way to end the day.

1 comment:

  1. So glad you folks got the rain you so desperately needed!

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