Last
night was warm enough to leave a few windows open. Which was fine until the robins woke up well
before the sun and started screaming “Get Up! Get Up!” to the whole
neighborhood.
FINE!
I was awake. With one eye I looked at my
Yahoo Weather app. Temp in the fifties,
wind, three mph. Maybe I could get in a bike
ride before the day hit the fan.
I
was dressed and carrying my bicycle out the door before I realized the student on
the University Public Radio Station I was listening to had probably phoned in the current weather
conditions and most certainly had NOT looked out the window.
Big
purple clouds were rolling in from the west dragging a curtain of rain. I told myself the storm was far away and that
I’d almost certainly make it back before the black weather arrived.
I
almost did. I was on the hill above town
when the clouds rolled into the valley. The first big blops of rain began to leave
spots on the pavement around me and I could hear distant thunder. Then lightning started shooting out of the sky
and I realized I was alone on a high place with a metal bicycle. It was all downhill from there. Funny how fear can remove fatigue.
Fortunately
the worst part of the weather went north and I made it to our driveway just
ahead of the downpour.
