I Want a Thunderstorm

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I don’t just want a thunderstorm — I’m ready for a thunderstorm.  I want the kind of storm where the thunder is so loud that it shakes the house.  I want to see the lightning brighten up the sky and not be able to count to three before I hear the reverberations.

I’ve always loved thunderstorms.  Not quite sure why — we didn’t have the kind of thunderstorms in the mountains of Colorado like what we have on the plains of Nebraska – so maybe that’s why I like them so much.  I love the power, the ferocity, the fireworks and smell of a thunderstorm.  I love hearing the rain pelting the house and waiting for the next big flash of light followed by the clap of thunder.

I love the stories that are told to children (and were told to me) about thunderstorms.  I like the image of Zeus throwing lightning bolts out of the clouds – just like in the movie Fantasia (it’s during Beethoven‘s Pastoral).   I was always told that thunder was God bowling – we live across the street from a bowling alley and after we told this one to my granddaughter, Lizzie, when she hears people bowling she always looks to sky and watches for the storm.  She is always disappointed when I tell her that God isn’t bowling right now – it’s just mere mortals having fun.

I love how the world smells after a good thunderstorm.  It’s that fresh smell with just a hint of ozone.  If I could bottle that smell and sell it as perfume, I think I would actually call it Ozone.  I think I could sell it as a room freshener, laundry detergent and even shampoo!

I love how the world looks after a thunderstorm — it twinkles and glitters.  It looks brand new – like a car that has just come out of a car wash – it sparkles.  One of my favorite lines from a movie is at the beginning of The Last Starfighter when one of the tenants of the trailer park says “It’s a sparklin’ day” – and that’s how I feel after a thunderstorm.

I’m ready for a thunderstorm – and the weather forecast for tomorrow indicates we might just get one.  I’m hoping that this will be one of those times that the weatherman is right!