lightning

lightning can be a very strange animal. after last saturday i must say i have a new respect for it as well. we have all heard stories of people being struck by lightning. well, fortunately i wasn't but i sure had a close call.

around 1130 am i was on the phone in my kitchen taking to a sales person regarding a new refrigerator we needed (another story in itself). it was raining at the time with some occasional thunder and lightning. the next thing i knew, a lightning bolt came into the kitchen, (through the top of the kitchen window to the best of my knowledge), and then exploded in the middle of the room about 5 feet from me. bob, the boys and other people keep wanting to know exactly where it come in but it's hard to say for sure. it's not like i was standing there watching for it to enter the house... needless to say i about **** in my pants! it happened so fast, there was this big "crack", and a flash of light about twice the size of a basketball. bob had been in the basement and came up because he heard the sound and felt the house shake. i can't say i felt any vibration, i think i was in too much shock, but a chip clip that was previously on the counter was now in the center of the kitchen floor.

there was no fire that started, although the house smelled of something burning for about 3-5 minutes. there is no burnt mark on either the outside or inside of our house, but it did fry both our small kitchen TV and my dining room light fixture.

it really makes you realize how small you are in relation to other things in this universe. life can be freaky sometimes and we see how little control we humans have over things. i also know that i was very fortunate to be standing near the kitchen table and not where i usually spend most of my time in the kitchen, in front of the sink or stove (which also happens to be in front of the kitchen window). if that were the case, this blog may never have gotten started.