Summer Storms

I have a love and fear relationship with Summer storms. We are experiencing one as I type this and it is both exhilarating and scary. You know those kind of thunderstorms where it is super hot and humid all day long, like we are talking blistering heat and then the cold front moves in and the temp drops 30 degrees in 30 minutes . . . that is what I'm talking about. Mr. Oz and I are sitting around at home when, for no apparent reason, the electricity cuts off. No power. Now, this is a problem when the air conditioner is the only thing standing between you and the Everglades moisture and Saraha like warmth of the outside. Bad.

I think guys have this "fix-it" gene embedded in their DNA which immediately kicks in to high gear. Maybe it is an off shoot of our primal flight or fight instinct, I'm not sure. But, for those of you who know Mr. Oz, he is not really what I would classify as a handyman type. Sure, he's good with computers and all things computer related, but household things like remedying power outages are not so much his thing. But, he tried . . . he sprung into action, grabbed a flashlight and skittered out to the garage to check the circuit breaker. Nothin. Nada. Zip. There was fiddling and flipping but no current. Suddenly we hear this chattering outside. Some of our neighbors were loudly discussing that they too had no power. Whew. It wasn't just our problem. This is strangely reassuring. That means the power company will swoop in and remove whatever burnt animal carcass is smoldering from inside the transformer cuz it crawled in there and some live wire zapped it. Poor chipmunk or rabbit or whatever. My remorse is low because, darn it, I need my television and computer and AIR CONDITIONING!!!!

Left with no other options, we left the house and headed to a neighboring watering hole for a cold beer and some dinner. Why fret in the ever increasing warmth and darkness at home when there is a cool, dark bar to hang out in, right? That is when we saw the ominous storm clouds rolling in. The once sunny outdoors grew an eery purple, black, grey with swirling winds. You could just see it rolling over us. Gulp. Once again, the fight or flight instinct hits. Well, I guess I should say the feast or flight instinct in this case. Do we stay and finish our delicious steak dinner or do we grab a to-go box and high tail back to our pitch black home? Hmmmmm. We stayed. We were brave (and hungry).

I know you are all sitting on the edge of your seats wondering what happened? Did a tornado form and lift us and our steaks high into the clouds, whip us around and drop us off in a field in Iowa? Did we make it? I know it isn't high suspense because I am typing this right now. Luckily we made it home safely and the power did, eventually turn back on. We have light and t.v. and the beloved chilly blast from the air conditioner is wafting over me right now. Ahhhhhhh. I'm not sure if the surge of electricity turning back on overloaded Mr. Oz's computer, but it doesn't seem to be working right now. That is making him grumpy. He loves his computer. BUT, tomorrow is his birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY) so who knows, maybe a birthday computer is on the list. Just what we need, more technology. :)

Gotta love a summer storm.