Thursday, August 9, 2012

A Busy 20 Minutes Or The Saga Of The Ice Cream Bar

Last night I got the hankerin' for an ice cream bar. I hopped in my truck did a little sideways exit from the drive and off to Wally World I went. Yeah, I know, I know, Wally World for an ice cream bar? Well, I can get a 3 pack of Magnum bars in any flavor for 3 bucks or I can go a local convenience store and get one equivelent Dove bar for about 3 bucks. The economic lesson is over. When I got a clear view of the sky I saw violent greens, menacing dark blues and some orangy/yellow patches in the brew. There was a huge front line approaching with a curved edge that was layered just like a cake. The wind kicked up as I was driving and I had to dodge wind driven shopping carts in the parking lot. In the distance you could see a torential downpour heading for us. Thank you Lord for the rain! I 'm a big ol' guy but when I cleared the line of cars the wind drove me 2 feet off course and tried snatch my cane from my hand. I dashed back to the cooler section(as fast as you can dash while using a cane) grabbed the Magnums (with almonds) and made my past the several couples of septagenarians and got to a vacant check out counter. My purchase made, I ventured back to my truck, wind buffeting me all the way. Just  for good measure, I made a sideways exit from the parking lot and merged with the approaching traffic. Along with booming thunder I could hear sirens in the distance. Arriving at the second traffic signal I could smell smoke and hear more, closer sirens. Looking over my shoulder I could see flashing lights and flickering flames through the bending, swaying trees. On the green light I lit up the back tires and managed to hit all greens on the short trip home. I carried my precious cargo into the house, opened the box and pulled one out. I turned on the scanner and went out the back door to stand on the berm and watch the storm, the firetrucks, the trees and the power lines. Enraptured with the scene before me I barely noticed the delectable flavor of my ice cream treat. I heard a crack above me and looking around a listening some more I couln't tell if it was a tree cracking or a power line cracking. I took the safe side and retreated to the shed and watched from there. I soon went inside and heard the scanner crackling with numerous call outs. The wind had the power lines whipping in a frenzy causing them to spark and in many instances break. The sparking of lines and exploding transformers were setting fires to grass and buildins alike. Many roads were blocked with trees, limbs and hot power lines. All emergency services were called out and the local fire department made the call for mutual aid assistance. The fire department of a nearby community sent a pumper and an abulance to help cover the many calls. One of the highrises for the elderly had a woman trapped in an elevator, the community center was fully engulfed, many yards and fields of dessicated grass were burned off, trees caught fire and in one area you could hear the booms of a string of transformers blowing up in an eletrical daisy chain. Man what a busy 20 minutes. And you know what? We didn't get squat for rain. It made the streets slimy, got your windows dirty and didn't make any difference in our continuing drought. But I did get my craving satisfied.

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