Here in Texas - right smack in the middle of tornado alley - we are prone to thunderstorms on a regular basis. I must be odd - I love them. When I was a kid in Colorado I'd lay on the front lawn and look up to the sky during thunderstorms - when I wasn't sailing boats in the gutter. Clearly I didn't know how destructive thunderstorms can be, although frankly even if I did it wouldn't have mattered. There's just something about watching the power of mother nature that is awe inspiring.
Then there's the rain I exeriencd n Hawaii when I ived there. It'd rain for a block and then the sun would shine and dry me out. My Suzuki 550 was always looked clean. It was also my only mode of transport. Oh damn - poor me. Stuck in Hawaii with just a motorcycle. Nothing like hopping on your bike in shorts, aloha shirt and flip-flops and cruising the neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights in the rain. I miss Hawaii.
Most interesting thuinderstorm I can recall was seen out the window if an airliner winging its way back to the Bay Area from a Caribbean cruise vacation. Off to the north was a massive thunder boomer somewhere over Kansas and in the blackness you could see lightning bolts shoot all the way to the ground. It was a spectacular light show, dfar better than any ever seen at a club in SF way back when. Of course in the middle of such a storm all you wonder is who'll stop the rain.
The thing about rain I love is its cleansing effect. The smell after a rainstorm is amazing. Its no wonder companies make a fortune trying to emulate that smell in shampoos and other personal care products. None really capture the purity though.
Nothing relaxes me quite the same way as the sound of rain. All of the days troubles seem to disappear when I sit back, close my eyes and just listen.
That's a quick take on rains from shackland. Check out what the other LBC members have to say on this weeks topic - ....Anu, Delirious, gaelikaa, Grannymar, Maxi, Maria SF, ocdwriter, Padmum, Paul, Ramana The Old Fossil and Will.
I wouldn't mind some Hawaii rain. In Ireland we are regularly soaked and cold at the same time, is it any wonder we end up as arthritic old joints.
ReplyDeleteOne thing about Florida; there can be the wildest rainstorm and everything is dry in no time.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're right about the cleansing of the rain, Shackman … it can't be duplicated.
Blessings ~ Maxi
Ahhh....we have something in common! I grew up in Lubbock, and loved tornado weather in particular. I loved it when the sky got all pink, and everything went still. There was an electric charge in the air, and then suddenly the storm would hit. And I loved after the storm, when we would get out air mattresses, and use the bike to pull each other along the flooded streets. :D
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpqp7q6ZMdA
ReplyDeleteGM those cold, bone-chulling rains are not pleasant - we get them on occasion here in Texas in December.
ReplyDeleteMaxi - I suspect Florida is similar to Hawaii except for the tradewinds
D - we're both nuts - LOL - but I agree about tornadoes as long as they don't cause any damage - nothing like a bright sunny day that suddenly, quickly grows pitch black. Time to duck & cover - LOL. Being from Lubbock maybe you cam appreciae the Doug Sahm tune.
Ramana - that and Who'll Stop the Rain were neck & neck - basically a coin flip.
Poor poor you - you're probably wishing you could have swapped that Hawaiian rain for the downpours that Grannymar is talking about. (Brrr...)
ReplyDelete