Mother Nature

The above photo is pretty cool, huh? Now you know what a miles and miles of smashed forest in Massachusetts looks like from 500 miles up.

I’ve never been, seen or even been remotely close to a tornado touchdown. Though the curious, twisted 12 year old boy in me would like to see one, from a good mile away. I guess it’s like watching a NASCAR race crash up. Rhode Island isn’t known for these storms, are they?

My only close brush with nature that nearly killed me happened when I was eight years old. My friend at the time Rick W. and I were on my street, trying to one up one another about the fact neither of us were afraid of a thunderstorm that was rolling by above us. That’s was pretty common as the boys in our neighborhood tried to prove we weren’t afraid of nuttin’.

It was strange thunderstorm, there was no rain nor any heavy wind, but plenty of cloud to cloud lightning strikes that boomed like God’s Own Bell. I think they used to call these “electrical storms” back then, if there ever was such a designation. This storm just flashed and banged for a good fifteen minutes before the “event” happened.

I can clearly remember. I was turning towards Rick’s house when I heard a weird snapping sound and seeing sparks explode from his bike that was lying on the lawn. I then remember I then turned toward my house and ran home SCREAMING like a little girl. As I was turning the corner of my house, I ran into my Dad who reached out his arm and scooped me up a bit and I fought him like a tiger to get into the house. I was yelling how I was nearly hit but it was obvious he didn’t see it and didn’t believe me. I made it inside and found Mom and spastically told her what had happened. She brushed it off thinking I was just plain scared from the storm itself.

About a minute later, Peggy Burns, who lived next door called up and asked my Mom was I alright. Finally, I had proof I wasn’t making the story up. Peggy said she saw a thin bolt of lightning hit the telephone pole and a second even thinner branch hit Rick’s bike. My Mom had turned towards me with this look of shock as she was getting the real story.

“SEE! SEE! I WAS NEARLY HIT!!” I kept saying.

My brother, on the other hand, just teased the hell out of me for acting like a little girl about it. Ah…what does he know?

To this day, I don’t like those storms that spray lightning all over the place, I still count out the flash to thunder in seconds to wonder how damn close it is.