Saturday, May 06, 2006
Rain, Rain, Go Away!
I'm a wuss. Think of everything Hurricane Katrina victims have gone through. Could I do that? No. And I know I couldn't do that because I spent from 11:15 Thursday night to 1:00 Friday morning huddled -- shaking and praying -- in my bedroom closet during The Worst Thunderstorm I've Ever Seen.
Why the closet? No basement or storm shelter. It was that or the bathroom. If I were to die, it would be my choice of being impaled by glass & tile or smothered by natural fibers. Smothering seemed more comfortable.
Why was I shaking and praying? Because my home was under a constant assault of hail -- from marble-sized to golf-ball-sized, a bombardment of loud cracks against the roof and walls. Because the weathercasters were saying, "Ground Zero for the storm appears to be at the intersection of _____ and ____." (100 yards from my front door.) Because the high winds were causing the rain (4" - 6" per hour) to fall horizontally, to blow the roof off a nearby restaurant, to cause "Surrender Dorothy" tornado-freight-train noises and twist the neighborhood street signs into spirals.
A guy at the grocery store this morning said he had survived Hurricane Andrew, and that for a very brief time, this week's storm was worse.
I'm lucky - no real damage, just a hail-pitted front door and shredded window screens.
And a slight tremor during this morning's rain.
Why the closet? No basement or storm shelter. It was that or the bathroom. If I were to die, it would be my choice of being impaled by glass & tile or smothered by natural fibers. Smothering seemed more comfortable.
Why was I shaking and praying? Because my home was under a constant assault of hail -- from marble-sized to golf-ball-sized, a bombardment of loud cracks against the roof and walls. Because the weathercasters were saying, "Ground Zero for the storm appears to be at the intersection of _____ and ____." (100 yards from my front door.) Because the high winds were causing the rain (4" - 6" per hour) to fall horizontally, to blow the roof off a nearby restaurant, to cause "Surrender Dorothy" tornado-freight-train noises and twist the neighborhood street signs into spirals.
A guy at the grocery store this morning said he had survived Hurricane Andrew, and that for a very brief time, this week's storm was worse.
I'm lucky - no real damage, just a hail-pitted front door and shredded window screens.
And a slight tremor during this morning's rain.
# posted by Peggy @ 7:46 AM 
