Tropical Storm Ernesto is heading this way, and I mean RIGHT this way. We're supposed to get eight to 12 inches of rain tonight. My first tropical storm. Hells yeah. The only thing that worries me is that I live at the bottom of a hill. There's some land that's lower, but it looks like the water could back up a bit. There are also storm drains nearby, and if they back up, we'll be a-swimmin'. So no toilet flushing allowed.
Last night a different storm came through the area, and the rumbling thunder was so long and loud it sounded like a tank coming down the street. The lightning was silent but bright, like someone flipping on and off a light right outside the window. I love thunderstorms, and it's interesting that thunderstorms in less congested cities with higher humidity are much different than the thunderstorms that blow through the tall buildings of Chicago. Here, and in Missouri, the storms are long and low, with flashes of lightning and thunder that sounds like it's quietly complaining about something. In Chicago, the claps of thunder will jar you wide awake in the middle of the night, and even if you've never been afraid of storms before, you'll begin to fear that the sky will soon fall through the roof.
Speaking of storms, yesterday after a downpour, a woman walked into the building and apologized for being late because she had gotten stuck in a gulley-washer. I love the South.
