'round here, on steamin' summer afternoons the odds are pretty much in the angry Gods favor when it comes to being hit by thunderstorms. I guess I've riled 'em up, 'cause I've ridden out my fair share; Thor occasionally reminds me of my human fragility. Riding one of these babies out, you quickly become resigned to the fact that you're playin' a game of Russian roulette with three or four bullets in the chamber. Fortunately, I've yet to find myself in the path of a water spout or tornado. The thunderstorm most indelibly imprinted in my memory banks was big and fast. You know they're commin'--the sudden temperature drop, the wall of black clouds, but you're never sure what they're bringin' or how close you're gonna be to ground zero. I knew immediately this one was a bad ass and was goin' to direct it's brunt in my immediate vicinity--posthaste. I paddled like a mad man for shore, shouldered my boat and ran deep into the woods. I hunkered down under a cluster of relatively smaller trees, making myself as small as possible, trying to minimize my contact with the ground. Then, it hit! Tremendous winds, relentless hail, nearby lightning strikes, and thunder like an army of chariots rumbling overhead! I was definitely at ground zero, and quickly became resigned to the fact that this might be the time there was a bullet in the chamber--although, I must admit that there's a perverse thrill in being that intimately exposed to the incredibly powerful and absolutely merciless forces of nature! --Just as quickly as it hit, it was gone...I was thankful to be neither hit by a falling tree or a lightning strike. As I looked around at the hail on the ground and in my cockpit, I noticed that I was shivering. The rapid temperature plummet, after an oppressively hot and humid afternoon, combined with my light clothing, had caused mild hypothermia. I went down to the water, submersed myself to the neck, and felt like I was soaking in a warm bath. I floated there for about ten minutes until I warmed up, then got back into my kayak and continued on my way... Don't tempt the Gods! Craig *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Mar 29 2001 - 08:34:32 PST
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