Well, it happened . . . this very evening.
It was raining absolute buckets outside and my Jack Russell terrorist was racing around the house barking challenges at the rolling thunder. But, me, I was minding my own business, puttering about, trying to decide what exciting menu (NOT!) I was going to throw together for dinner.
Next thing I knew there was a massive ZAP and PING outside. And when I say outside, I mean about five feet from where I was standing. As an attention-getter it really couldn’t be beat. One of the most effective I’ve ever experienced.
After freezing in place a good 30 seconds or so, the hamsters that turn the wheel inside my head began timidly walking in place once again. As my brain slowly returned to life and began to jerkily process thoughts, it dawned on me that lightning had just struck my air conditioning unit.
Since the lights hadn’t even flickered, I thought “Huh, oh well, how bad could it be?”
Then it dawned on me the air conditioner had stopped working. I walked into my garage so I could slip out the side door and make sure the ac unit wasn’t on fire or something. When I opened the door to the garage, I discovered the lift lights on my garage door opener were on, like the door had just gone up or down. But I’d been in the house all day.
The air conditioner wasn’t smoking (the massive amount of rain that was still falling may have helped with that) so I quickly returned inside where I’ve since discovered my alarm clock/radio is no longer capable of telling time, my phone has apparently taken a vow of silence and my personal email and internet connection have gone on vacation.
Still, let’s face it. Things could be all kinds of worse! MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH ALL THE WONDERFUL FOLKS IN COLORADO WHO CAN ATTEST TO WHAT EXPERIENCING A REAL NATURAL DISASTER IS LIKE RIGHT NOW.
My lights are working fine, my new TV is unscathed, my ceiling fans are all turning as requested.
I’m blessed!
Plus, it’s only my personal internet and phone that are down. I work out of my home and my business line and email are operating just fine, so I’m not even close to being blocked off from the world.
I’ve been struck by lightning (okay, it was actually my ac unit, but surely I can be allowed a little artistic license in this instance) and have lived to tell the tale in reasonable comfort.
And I didn’t even need to don a diaper afterwards either!
HAVE YOU EVER PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED A NATURAL DISASTER OR DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS? IF SO, WHAT HAPPENED? A FREE COPY OF MY DEBUT NOVEL, MRS. GOODFELLER, WILL BE RANDOMLY AWARDED TO ONE PERSON WHO LEAVES A COMMENT BELOW BEFORE THE NEXT WRITERSPACE BLOG IS POSTED.
My husband was stationed in Charleston SC during Hurricane Hugo. My friend’s father died and both our husbands were out to sea. She went home to California and I watched her three kids. Rather than bring her 3 kids to our home, I took my one child to hers. Then the hurricane came. I moved a dining table into the hall way, made the kids a secure nest of sleeping bags under the table and covered the table in heavy blankets and we huddled there during the hurricane. The next morning found us without electric, phone or water, but absolutely no damage done to the house we were in. Our home, less than a block away, had the roof o of the home behind it blown thru the windows. Shingles were stuck in the walls like darts. There was not a single window that was not broken. Glass, water and sand covered every surface. It was a mess to clean up, with no electric or water, but we were truly blessed as we were not hurt and if we had been home it is likely we would have at least had some cuts or bruises.
I live in a flood zone and within walking distance of neighborhoods that have been devastated by flooding. When the officials tell us to evacuate, we move as quickly as possible. Many of our immediate neighbors” ride it out” as the water has not reached our neighborhood in one hundred years. But power usually is lost and the neighborhood can be cut off from access to stores. Thankfully, our home has never taken on water, but I know so many people who have lost everything. During the last flood, my favorite, tiny,
Library was totally destroyed.
I grew up with hurricanes on the Gulf Coast, moved to California to deal with dust storms and earthquakes, now I’m back for more hurricanes. Through all nature has put me through, what always amazes me most is the human spirit.