Big Storm!

Late last night, Brisbane, Logan City and the Gold Coast were struck by a line of storms.  At first, I found I had missed out my beloved television series 'No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' so I thought to tape it; as I had been talking to some friends on the phone who had just arrived home from the UK (and they were stuck from the Qantas grounding too so had run a few hours late).  I'm just relieved they made it home through one of the other carriers. 

Anyway, I unplugged the computer from the wall as well as the modem, then turned off the television, VCR and HD box at the wall and unplugged those too - as well as unplugging the antenna.  I found that once the drain outside looked like it was handling things well, there wasn't anything else for me to do but to go to bed.

However, with the storm worsening, I found that I was searching for my reading lamp and waterproof torch just in case the lights went out.  There was so much lightning it was amazing!  I wrote a little long-hand about a story idea I had, but some arthritis that had been playing up in my left hand didn't allow for me to write for long.  So, I set up my reading lamp on my book and I spent the next hour or so reading about 1 1/2 chapters of 'The Lady of the Rivers' which I received for my birthday from my Birthday Buddy on Bookcrossing.  I was really getting into it by around 10:30pm when the landline phone rang and Dad was on the other end asking me if the drain was working well.  I mean, why call me in the middle of a violent thunderstorm with all the lightning around - when it was the most dangerous to be on the phone - and ask me that?  I know he wanted to know, but I could have told him this morning about it and not have the danger of having the phone lines struck my lightning from either end.  After all the years my parents had taught me to keep off the phone lines during thunderstorms, that it's the most dangerous time of all to be on the phone - or on a computer or online - Dad breaks that rule just to ask me a question about the drain.  It would have been safer to SMS me.

Well!  During that storm, we received a huge downpour and so much lightning, it was very exciting to watch it from my bed.  I almost put my book down just to go to the window to watch the whole storm.  But once the whole storm cell moved out to sea, taking the noise and lightning with it, I found it cooled off enough to go straight to sleep; and it was almost midnight.  Just as I drifted off, I heard sirens echoing off into the distance; and I hoped and prayed nobody was seriously hurt too badly out there during the storm.

However, this morning, when I heard the news, there was a car accident at Marsden (not far from me) where a carload of people ran into a phone pole.  The driver died from his injuries, however his passengers don't have life-threatening injuries.  The accident occurred during the height of the storm.  This makes me wonder why they were out in that kind of weather.

Brisbane's weather is becoming more volatile as the years pass.  I remember when I was young, we had some pretty hairy storms that would be the type that would hit and miss places; and I wondered if - when they disappeared - they'd return.  And now, they've returned, I have the memories of the old storms returning; like the one that hit us when I was around 12 years old.  Dad was out west and had to brought home quickly.  I remember how horrible that was; when I looked out the French Doors of the living room to the front verandah, I couldn't see the front steps; it was just a horrible white vacuum of wind.  And the noise was unbelievable!  I haven't heard anything like it since.  And even though that storm only went for around 40 minutes or so, it seem to last forever.  There was so much noise and so much to do while it was going on that I don't remember it leaving.  I do remember finding myself in my parent's bedroom praying for it to spare our house; and you know, our roof wasn't taken.  But the pins that held the tin roof on were very loose and had to be replaced.  Well, until my next post, take care, keep warm and safe and remember, I'm always here.