KaBOOM!!!

We are having a big ole thunderstorm tonight. The lightning has been so close a couple of times that the thunder sounded nearly simultaneously, but not quite. Is it true that if you hear the thunder at the same time you have been hit? Maybe not, but it makes for a thrilling and scary thought.

I would like to go upstairs and take a bath, but I am having second thoughts. One of the things I learned about lightning since moving to Canada (Not many thunderstorms in the Bay Area, which is why I am always really annoyed when television and movies show thunderstorms in San Francisco) is that you don't go swimming. I don't know if baths apply as well, but since I actually experienced getting an electrical shock once while resting my feet against the spigot, I am reluctant to submerge myself as long as the storm is overhead. And no, the electrical shock was not due to thunderstorm. It actually occurred in my old house in SF (the place without thunderstorms, remember?) and was due to a wire that was not grounded properly and came into contact with the bathroom pipes. Let me tell you, getting even a mild electric shock while reclining in a full tub of water is not a pleasant experience.

Anyway, the storm has nearly passed, so maybe I can go take that bath. The dog is barking like mad at the door. She used to be terrified of storms, but now she is nearly deaf. Instead, she seems to think that someone (maybe the pesky raccoon who keeps breaking into our composter) is trying to-- well, I am not exactly sure what she thinks. But whatever she thinks, she is going to make sure that in order to get to her mom and dad, that whatever is going to have to go through Lucy the dog! I feel safe.

And the storm has indeed passed.