It's raining, it's pouring...

Dear Reader,





There was this huge storm last night. I could tell that there was something building up in the atmosphere because the weather had been so hot and humid the whole afternoon. In Malaysia, if it's really, really hot--everyday is hot here, so when I say really, really hot, I mean excessively, extremely, stiflingly, almost unbearably hot--it's probably because there's a huge monster storm heading our way.


Anyway, I was in the car, on my way to...somewhere. My sister (Bekah) was driving, and when we were about six minutes away from home, the rain started. Drizzly at first, but then it escalated. A lot. Soon, it was hard to see the road with all the rain belting on the windshield in slanting, wind-driven lines. I looked out the window, and I could see the rain drops, falling at an impossibly acute angle, and the tree branches--and the very trees that the branches belonged to--beside the road were bending with the sheer force of the wind.


Bekah kept cringing and trying to cover her ears with her free hand--while still attempting to drive in a reasonably straight line--every time the thunder rumbled across the black sky. Which happened about once every four minutes. Once, after an unusually loud thunder-clap, Bekah took both her hands off the steering wheel and pressed them against her ears. She even squinted her eyes a little. It was only for a split second, but it got me nervous all the same. I scolded her. Told her it was silly to be afraid of thunder. To which she replied, "Hey, you're afraid of lizards, I'm afraid of thunder. Okay?"


Well, obviously, there was nothing I could say in reply to such a cutting retort as that. After a moment of consideration, I told her that it was, in fact, silly to be afraid of thunder because thunder is just the sound that lightning makes. You just see the lightning first, then hear the thunder later, because light travels faster than sound. I said, if she should be afraid of something, she should be afraid of lightning, because lightning could strike you and kill you. Whereas thunder was perfectly harmless.


She didn't seem too appreciative of me divulging this information. But, at least she didn't let go of the steering wheel anymore.


I don't know why people are afraid of thunder. I love it. The phrase rolling thunder perfectly describes the kind of thunder we experienced last night. I could feel the car floor rumbling and vibrating under my feet with every boom of thunder that rolled out of the sky and onto us. I could even feel the noise of it drumming through me, like a second heartbeat.


After Bekah dropped me off at...the place, during the drive home, she said she saw some tree branches falling, and even some trees being uprooted by the wind. I'm glad I wasn't there for that. If the trees toppling around us hadn't managed to freak me out, Bekah's freaking out about the trees would. Anyway, I got to see the destruction myself when Bekah picked me up. By that time, it wasn't raining anymore, so I got a clear view of the havoc the storm had wreaked. There were at least two uprooted trees--the dirt still clinging in clumps around the upended roots--and innumerable branches and twigs and stuff littering the side of the road.


I love the rain. But I do feel sorry for those trees. And whoever it is who has the job of cleaning all of them up off the roads. Anyway, as I was watching the rain pounding against the car window, the perfect rain-song came on. It's called 'Worry About You' by Ivy. I don't know about you, my dear reader, but in my opinion, it was the ideal soundtrack for a rainy day. Have a listen, it'll make you wish it was raining outside.









Well, I suppose that's it for me. Til the next post, dear reader. Signing off...







Yours,



Figgy the Deluge Devotee