Who is not afraid of lightning? When it hits close by, with the crack so loud it could humble the bass player of a rock band, the body cannot help but react. Instinct kicks in and you want to dive under something. Some of us are afraid of it even when it is far off. From the first rumble my black lab used to crawl under our feet or try to squirm onto the couch (where she was not allowed) with us if we were right there. I have had my share of close calls with lightning, none of which I wish to have repeated.

The scariest lightning I have been in was at a summer camp where I was a counselor. I had left the cabin and rode in a truck to help another counselor set up some speakers in a building over the hill toward the far end of camp. We were putting one last piece in place when we heard the rumble get louder, so we decided to get back to our cabins. As he started to drive, we noticed an odd site, something neither of us had seen before. Gray clouds were rolling in, but one dark, completely black circle was shooting lightning bolts about every 3 seconds, hitting the adjacent hill. He drove as fast as he could on the dirt road, but we got to the top of our hill and the cabin area about the same time as the black circle. When lightning struck our gym about 100 yards away both of us dove down under the dash board of the truck. A second bolt seemed to hit right in front of us, but we could only see the flash in all of the windows around us light up the truck as if 10 spot lights had just been turned on us. Then it rolled past continuing its onslaught of bolts onto the mountaintops past ours.

We both got out and ran through the rain to our cabins. Mine was empty! All 11 kids and co-counselor missing! I walked into the adjoining cabin and saw no one. It was a few seconds before the boys started calling out my name and sliding out from under the beds, all 22 of them. My English co-counselor was under one as well. We found out that the lightning had struck the gym and the bathroom, though neither was burned and there was only a little electrical damage. Glad somebody knew how to put in those metal pipes out the roof tops which serve as lightning rods.

This past summer I saw the most spectacular lightning display that I have ever seen. As we drove the storm was moving in front of us so I slowed enough to allow it to keep ahead as we moved west. That alone made it an unusual storm since most weather move from the west to the east. We would turn south in about 20 miles so could wait it out a bit. The lightning was all in the sky and traveled across it in an amazing flow, creating a mosaic as it zigzagged through the dark clouds. I wanted to keep watching it all, but I did not want to drive under it. It was almost magical as we were mesmerized by its beauty rather than ducking out of fear. Just fascinating how different and unique both of these events were.

May you have a uniquely fascinating and Happy Friday, that does not involve any lightning. Remember to subscribe on the Perspectives page.

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