We were on dog duty last night. My daughter and son-in-law are out of town. We had just pulled up to the gate in front of their house when I told the General that the dark sky looked threatening. I got out of the truck to open the gate. Out of nowhere, intermittent drops of rain and hail began to fall. By the time I had pulled through the open gate and gotten back in my truck, it became apparent that we'd do well to get inside the house quickly.
A huge hail stone hit the windshield of my truck and from the sound, I thought for sure the window would be shattered. Fortunately, it was not. We managed to get inside the house without getting hit in the head by hail, but it was a very close call. Seconds later, the deluge of rain and hail was a force of nature putting everything in its path at risk.
The shrill sound of a weather alert warning went off on my phone. The message was ominous. Outside was not a place for man or animals – Seek cover. In addition to heavy rain and large hail, the threat of a tornado also existed.
The experience triggered a memory from long ago. Our family had gone to a drive-in movie. As I recall, we were in a 1953 Chevrolet. That would have put me between the first and third grade. At any rate, out of nowhere we found ourselves in the middle of a storm and we headed to the safety of home long before the movie was over. I don't recall that there was any hail damage to the car, but we got home to discover that hail had broken out one of our windows.
From a childhood perspective, I don't remember feeling unsafe. I guess dad orchestrated the kind of command that we had nothing to worry about. During the drive from the gate to the house yesterday, there was a surge in my anxiety level. Hail stones the size we experienced was a definite threat.
My daughter's home has lots of windows. Along with the dogs, we stayed in an interior room just to be on the safe side. The sound of hail hitting the metal roof was a little concerning, but we weathered the storm. Fortunately, no windows were broken.
Of course, my tough Ford truck didn't fare well from the storm. Surprisingly, I decided not to let it make me crazy. Historically, I've never driven a vehicle with a door-ding without getting it quickly repaired. The same will be true for my truck. Actually, I probably won't get it done quickly due to supply and demand.
All My Best!
Don
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