storm watch

i dont think ive ever been in a hurricane or tornado. if i have been, then they were too small to notice, and those dont count anyway.

i remember the first time i was in an honest to goodness storm though, and the first time i saw lightening. i was in the backseat of my grandfathers Cadillac staring out the window into the empty plains of missouri. i was going on seven years old and he was hauling me from my aunts house in denver to my grandmothers house in new jersey, where i would live for the next year.

i sat with my arms on the edge of the open window, crossed in front of me as i kneeled on the seat looking out. it was sunset. we were tearing across the barren highway, ripping through the warm, still summer air. black storm clouds huddled above but it wasnt raining, and there was no thunder. it was just this windy silence and then a jagged bolt of light splintered through the sky, crackling down and striking the earth a mile or so in the distance.

i jumped back and gasped and laughed nervously at the same time. then another bolt shattered the horizon and lit up the distance like a wild flash from some heavenly bulb.

i squealed at my grandfather, did you see it? did you see it? and he chewed his unlit cigar and told me to sit down and be quiet. i zipped my lip and leaned on the window, searching the sky for more action. when the first drops of rain began to pelt the windshield he told me to roll the window up. after that all i remember seeing were long, lashing streaks of rain and the occasional flash in the distance and about a thousand passing headlights.

of course, ive seen many rain and thunder storms since then. but never a hurricane. i have friends that have been in hurricanes that actually think they are fun. when i think about it, i dont doubt they are. some ferocious winds. maybe some rain. sounds exciting. of course, this is all granted i dont lose a house or anything.

ive never been in a tornado either, but those dont seem as fun. fuck tornadoes.

weve been having some storms here recently. i like them. i like counting until i hear the thunder after lightening strikes. i like hiding under awnings while rain roars down so violently the city stops for a beat. i like the smell of the street after one ends. i like the feeling in the air before one begins. i like that storms have to be ferocious by definition. that they cant be light. never will it drizzle so long that someone will declare it a "drizzle storm." storms are the beast of weather, they kick ass. but what i dont like about storms is they fuck up my satellite tv reception. that shit sucks.