Thread: Into the Storm

I work at a fancy, little restaurant several blocks down from my house. It's a great place to work; people are friendly, management is competent, the work is reasonable, and the pay... well, whatever

Anyways, late last Tuesday night, the sky starts lighting up with constant flashes of lightening off in the distance. White bolts raked between a triad of clouds. It was a heck of a light show, but there was work to be done and so I grudgingly went inside.
The shift ended up being a bit rough, so I chilled at the bar at the front of the restaurant afterwards. Most of the patrons had left, and so I shot the !@#$ with the waiters as they finished up.
All of the sudden, I hear screaming and yelling. Outside, the rain had started pouring down, torrential, sheets of water gushing down the main street.
People on the bar patios were having a hell of time sobering up to get their butts into the bar or their cars. Tornado weather rarely happens in this part of Canada, so, curiously, I took a second and stepped outside. The wind was whirling around the parking lot, and for some reason, I got the idea that it would be amazing to bike home through this weather.

The main street, where the sides are lined with buildings, was amazing. The rain is soaking you to the bone, currents of wind whirled past you, thinning the air. You can feel each heart beat, every breath, the red blood rushing through your body. It was exhilarating, to say the least.
It was when I got out in the open that things got bit hairy. The rain formed a wall that filled your nostrils and mouth, making it impossible to breathe. You are blinded. It's impossible to see what's in front of you through the sheer torrent of water. I hit a few objects that had been blown on the sidewalk, and a few times I veered off. Cars slowed down and many had pulled over.
Eventually, I pulled off for a few moments to catch myself. "What in God's name was I thinking?"
A truck parked across the street had been blaring its horn at me. Maybe they had more common sense. Now, I could turn back or stay there wait out the storm, but honestly, I hadn't done anything stupid for awhile. Why not keep going? Why think when you've got pride and fear to run off of?
So, I kept riding down, and it wasn't long when I started to feel the sharp pricks of hail. Those nice little bits of ice from above made me realize that there were probably downed power lines and trees. "Seriously. What the hell am I doing?"
A few blocks from my place, the thunderclaps got louder and louder, while the lightening got brighter and brighter. It wasn't just a bunch of lights and noises, you could feel it, it was visceral, it was real. The storm was on top of me.

I tensed up the last block, sort of expecting an ironic turn of event this close to safety. I put my bike away all too quickly and barely got my foot into my house, when BOOM! The room goes white and a sharp, supersonic crack resounded through everything. The room went oddly dark, except for candlelight, and my roommate started yelling at me that I should've called her for a ride. I'm soaked through the bone, my shoes are miniature puddles, my wallet needed to be laid out, but luckily the plastic around my iPod didn't have any holes. So, after reassuring my roommate, I got into something dry, and went to sleep.

The next morning, there was a downed tree on the lot across the street. Some old pines had been blown over on the route I took, and power wasn't restored until well into the next evening.

Stupid? Yes.
Fun? Hell yeah.

Dude, I was just yesterday researching for my story, what to do in a lightning storm if you are caught out, and while it did not suggest what you've done, lol, I see you have some a great new experience for your writing. Awesome. Foolish, but yeah, I think we all risk that at some point. I remember running recklessly down a mountain in a lightning storm. Somehow I didn't fall and made it home. Living entirely in the now. It is exhilarating. Something to remind you that you are alive, and might not be shortly, depending on your angels vigilance and or good fortune, however you see it, and not much more than that.

By the way, great tale, I enjoyed it, and it gives more food for thought to my research too, as well as reminding me of some of my own adventures. Good to tap into those when you write.

Originally Posted by guy_faukes

I work at a fancy, little restaurant several blocks down from my house. It's a great place to work; people are friendly, management is competent, the work is reasonable, and the pay... well, whatever

Anyways, late last Tuesday night, the sky starts lighting up with constant flashes of lightening off in the distance. White bolts raked between a triad of clouds. It was a heck of a light show, but there was work to be done and so I grudgingly went inside.
The shift ended up being a bit rough, so I chilled at the bar at the front of the restaurant afterwards. Most of the patrons had left, and so I shot the !@#$ with the waiters as they finished up.
All of the sudden, I hear screaming and yelling. Outside, the rain had started pouring down, torrential, sheets of water gushing down the main street.
People on the bar patios were having a hell of time sobering up to get their butts into the bar or their cars. Tornado weather rarely happens in this part of Canada, so, curiously, I took a second and stepped outside. The wind was whirling around the parking lot, and for some reason, I got the idea that it would be amazing to bike home through this weather.

The main street, where the sides are lined with buildings, was amazing. The rain is soaking you to the bone, currents of wind whirled past you, thinning the air. You can feel each heart beat, every breath, the red blood rushing through your body. It was exhilarating, to say the least.
It was when I got out in the open that things got bit hairy. The rain formed a wall that filled your nostrils and mouth, making it impossible to breathe. You are blinded. It's impossible to see what's in front of you through the sheer torrent of water. I hit a few objects that had been blown on the sidewalk, and a few times I veered off. Cars slowed down and many had pulled over.
Eventually, I pulled off for a few moments to catch myself. "What in God's name was I thinking?"
A truck parked across the street had been blaring its horn at me. Maybe they had more common sense. Now, I could turn back or stay there wait out the storm, but honestly, I hadn't done anything stupid for awhile. Why not keep going? Why think when you've got pride and fear to run off of?
So, I kept riding down, and it wasn't long when I started to feel the sharp pricks of hail. Those nice little bits of ice from above made me realize that there were probably downed power lines and trees. "Seriously. What the hell am I doing?"
A few blocks from my place, the thunderclaps got louder and louder, while the lightening got brighter and brighter. It wasn't just a bunch of lights and noises, you could feel it, it was visceral, it was real. The storm was on top of me.

I tensed up the last block, sort of expecting an ironic turn of event this close to safety. I put my bike away all too quickly and barely got my foot into my house, when BOOM! The room goes white and a sharp, supersonic crack resounded through everything. The room went oddly dark, except for candlelight, and my roommate started yelling at me that I should've called her for a ride. I'm soaked through the bone, my shoes are miniature puddles, my wallet needed to be laid out, but luckily the plastic around my iPod didn't have any holes. So, after reassuring my roommate, I got into something dry, and went to sleep.

The next morning, there was a downed tree on the lot across the street. Some old pines had been blown over on the route I took, and power wasn't restored until well into the next evening.

Stupid? Yes.
Fun? Hell yeah.

A few years ago, I was in a similar situation. I was working in a high rise complex and it was obvious that a major storm was about to beat down on us. We stood at the door and looked at the very impressive cloud. I left from the door and walked about twenty five feet into the parking lot. I looked up and could actually see the center of the cloud being sucked up into itself. The women started yelling at me to get back indoors. I could see that the cloud was turning, but going south-away from us. After a couple of minutes, I came back in.

It turned out that a short lived tornado did drop out of that cloud. Still, it was an amazing sight to see.

Stupid ? Probably.

Memorable-absolutely.

That's pretty awesome. Another minute and couldda been you who was zapped. Reminds me of something I had on a T-Shirt, "Don't confuse a long life with an interesting one."

Eluixa - I agree, real life can offer up a lot of material and perspective that you can't initially imagine. Thanks for the compliments, and I hope this adds a bit of "perspective" to your research.

Dudester - I knew you would have experienced something similar to this, haha. It's got to be the sight, feeling the wind, the air pressure, the power that makes the real thing so much more engaging. It pulls you in, you want to keep watching it.

Caelum - along that lines, I just hope one doesn't live a long life that starts with excitement and goes down hill from there. Looking back, there were quite a few things that would've maimed me, and it's good to be bipedal with full mental functions until the curtains close.

Originally Posted by caelum

That's pretty awesome. Another minute and couldda been you who was zapped. Reminds me of something I had on a T-Shirt, "Don't confuse a long life with an interesting one."

Life is a banquet, and most people are starving to death.