Flower-Power's Blog

Its still looking pretty bad - frequent lightening.   They say to stay away from windows when its this bad....  but since I'm curious.. I just have to take a peek.    Infact thats how I snapped the pic of lightening on the evening of the 30th May.    I love to take pics of weather happenings.  Clouds, just anything that strikes my fancy. 

One of these days, I've got to get pics of the funky looking plants that grow along our back fence line.  Some look like some sort of Holly's... others I'm just not sure.  

Hubby has gone to bed....and so must I...    eventually.   :O)

Speaking of storms--back in the year of '76 I believe...  I wish I had the newspaper clipping but my brother has it...  anyway... now that I peeked your curiousity....  my dad, along with my brother and his friend were on a fishing trip to a place between Texas and Lousiana.   (I'm trying to jar my memory of the name of the lake)  anywho....  my dad was in one boat while my brother and his friend were in another boat...not sure how many  feet or (yards) away they were from one another.... but... they had been fishing most of the day, when it was time to get fishing gear put away and get back to camp.    As my dad recalled back then, he said there was not a cloud in the sky...the sun was shining ... way back in the distance he could hear light thunder...he figured well let me tie up lose ends and get my pole put away..... while he had his pole in one hand and getting the line untangled.  Out of nowhere....BOOM... my brother then recalled... hearing the big boom...looking over at my dad's boat....  he couldn't see dad!  Where was he?!?!    After a few minutes... dad was able to lift his hand in air, signaling that he was okay.   My brother said, that when he heard the Boom... the water BOILED and BUBBLED from where the lightening had hit.   Leaving a scorched ring around their boat!!   He said, WoW! If it made the water boil then what must dad look like??  

Eventually, people from surrounding camp sites, came with helping hands and an old door off a trailer to carry our dad to the shore.    Dad was indeed okay.... thankfully, he was dressed in several layers of warm clothing, the first few layers had been burnt badly....  later, in the hospital...  the doctors found 3rd degree burns on his chest, back, and side.   They were able to do skin grafts to repair the damage....  The doctors said he was very lucky to be alive.  Most people do not survive lightening strikes.   

The newspaper, did a story on dad...his story made front page news.   Dad told the newspaper that he remembered being thrown back-hard.  His head & body landed between two full tanks of gasoline...he was afraid it might ignite...but nothing happened.  Thank God.    The handle on the pocket knife he carried in his back pocket was now melted...and the blade scorched from the extreme heat.   The seat, crafted out of a plastic bucket chair was now blown apart.     Amazingly enough... he lived to tell his story... he was now famous among the towns people and they came to visit the man that had been struck by lightening.   

This story is also etched in my mind.   When my mother and I first heard about it.... she was busy sewing and I was sitting on the couch eating ice cream.    The phone rang.   Mom asked Dad if he caught anything.   Then I heard her say, how bad?   Is it like a sunburn?    Dad didn't want my mother to worry so he didn't say much, not until she saw for herself.... she could hardly believe that he lived through it!    ;O)    

My dad loved to tell stories.... but that one was certainly true.   

I miss dad.    He was a very special person.

......good nite everyone.....