Storms

Lightning is dangerous. Fact.

I don't know where I learned it, for it seems that I am always around people who are completely oblivious to it. But lighting is dangerous, and the winds that often accompany it are destructive. For this reason, I don't like storms. I never have. From the Santa Annas in Southern California, to the tornadoes in the South.

When I was a small child, and even a not so small child, growing up in Southern California, the Santa Anna wind storms were among my greatest fears (Next to the dark). They were terrifying, especially to a little kid. But I am sure I wouldn't be any less afraid of them today. When I was two, after a rain storm, a Santa Anna came by and blew a giant pine tree onto our roof. No one was hurt, but I was two, and I remember it to this day. So, I've never liked wind. I am very fond of breeze, but there comes a point when the wind gets too strong, and I don't like it. If I'm outside, I get very tense, and I come inside. And even then I am a little uneasy.

In the South, there are no winds like the Santa Annas, but there are tornadoes, which are far worse. We have been, extremely, extremely blessed to not have had any come close to us, but they are still a possibility. One that is ever looming.

So, I've told you some of what I think about storms. By now, you may think that I hate everything about storms. Well, you'd be partly true.

There is one thing I like about storms, thunderstorms, in particular: The air. There is nothing like the air before a thunderstorm, nothing. It is the absolute coolest feeling in the world. Fact. Okay, opinion. But still! It is amazing. Truly amazing. It implies impending danger, ergo, it has a downside. But perhaps the impending danger is part of what makes it so awesome. It has been a while since we've had a thunderstorm, so I dare not even attempt to describe it. But I am sure I don't have to. For you, gentle reader, have no doubt felt the air before a storm at some time or another.

It's a glorious thing.