Thunder and Lightning
As I sat on my front porch, gray clouds scurried overhead pushed by a stiff wind from the southwest. The clouds weren’t thick rain clouds, but they did release scattered drops of rain. In the distance I heard a faint roll of thunder, too far away to see the heavenly spark of lightning. The scenario reminded me of several things in my past. The first was of my mom Sybil Miner Beck who would yell at us kids if we were on the telephone. It was a black, wall mounted telephone with a coiled cord to the mouthpiece. She’d say, “Kids. Get off the telephone. It’s lightning out. It could come in through the wires and get you.”
The other thing I was reminded of was her telling us, “”Kids, get out of the shower right now. The lighting will hit you.” She felt the lightning strike would follow the water and the pipes into the bathroom. She’d also tell us to unplug the television.
Another short lightning story is of my aunt Helen Stahl. She was unfortunate enough to be struck by lightning three times. Each time she was outside on her damp concrete porch in her bare feet. I’m not sure if it was a direct hit, but it certainly made her feet tingle.
The story that stirred in me as I sat on my front porch happened at my house just outside of Normalville, Pennsylvania. The front porch had a wonderful view of an old barn, a field, and a valley that pointed in the direction of the Indian Creek Dam, but I couldn’t see the dam or the water because of the heavy foliage. Often fog and the storms would follow the valley upwards to our mobile home and the front porch was the perfect spot to watch the storm’s advance. Long before I could see the lightning or the rain, the sound of thunder would roll up the valley until it collided with the side of my house. Eventually the lightning would appear. It would march up the valley on bright jagged electric legs.
My wife Cindy would often fuss with me as did my mom about the lightning. Cindy wanted me to come inside. Is it just a mom thing? She was worried that I’d be struck by lightning.
Eventually I’d come inside, but I always enjoyed the storms. Her pleas became more strenuous when our older daughter would join me on the porch. I believe that my daughter still enjoys watching storms to this day.