Skeeter, the lightening rod

Oregon, like most northwestern states, has a variety of climates–alpine, coastal, rainforest, desert.  Depending on what part of the state one is in, the experiences with mother nature can vary in intensity and advanced warning. We can actually get ice, snow, thunder and lightning, flooding, high wind, earthquake, tornado, volcanic eruption, tsunami, drought, wild fires, and heat waves.  Adverse weather most often doesn't last or cause major property damage.  It can be more inconvenient than lethal. Oregonians, however, have less tolerance for weather variation.  We whine when it's too hot, humid, cold, dry, wet...*  On the other hand, Oregonians don't ever take a sunny day for granted.

A beautiful Sunday dawned as Skeeter and I headed off to meet my friend at Starbucks. Since they have a big outdoor patio, and it was such a lovely, summer day, my friend and I decided to have coffee "al fresco".  By the time I scooted there, it was cooler than I expected, but still okay.  We planted ourselves outside, got our coffee and chatted.  An hour later, it was even cooler and had clouded over. Not only was it time to leave, the sky had started to look a bit ominous.

On the way home, a man in a truck spotted Skeeter and me.  "Hey lady," he warned, "I don't know if you saw the lightning, but it's coming this way."  I assured the good samaritan that I was homeward bound and thanked him.  It occurred to me what a lightening rod Skeeter (with metal parts) and me (with conductive parts) were and scooted to the safety of my sheltering garage.

Earl, Jason and Zoe (first year) were on their mid summer bike ride and gone for three days.  They were 50 miles away; Close enough to worry about lightning, but too far to do anything. Consequently, I thought it was prudent to let them know I was home safe and not electrocuted.
Earl promptly texted back, "Glad you're home safe, Mrs. Franklin."

 

The lesson:  Don't mess with Mother Nature.  Be prepared and pay attention.


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