It rained in San Francisco; That's news in itself, as the city and state have been in a pretty well known drought for the past few years. What made the day's storm particularly noteworthy, however, was the accompaniment of thunder and lightning, which is quite rare here, even during a normally wet rainy season.
I began my daily foray out of my apartment as I usually do, with a walk in Golden Gate Park, and the steady rain, though not very heavy, kept many of the early regulars away.
With the park nearly to myself, I walked amid the drizzle and then steadier rain, and soon began to hear thunder in the distance. The sound of the rumbling reminded me of when I was a boy in sleepaway camp, when on some days the hot weather would give way to strong thunder and lightning, cooling the afternoon heat. I remembered those days with fondness, even though I did not always have pleasant experiences, nor good memories of the time. The ducks and squirrels in the park seem unfazed by the thunder, and appeared to relish in the wet weather. I also saw the hints of an dark rainbow at about this time.
As I continued walking, the thunder became more intense, and suddenly the muted colors brightened from the first hint of lightning. The flashes struck me as so unusual that it crossed my mind that a studio photographer's flood lights had momentarily flashed (I knew that thought didn't make sense, but that's honestly what occurred to me), and as the flashes became louder, brighter, and closer to the rumbles that proceeded them, the people who were there seemed to grow as excited as me. We all seemed to be sharing in our witness to a remarkable event.
It dawned on me at that time that I felt very free just then; it was as if this thunder and lightning had transported me back to the times I'd experienced them in the past, amid all of the pain and anxiety of those times, and temporarily cleansed them from my present.
With the park nearly to myself, I walked amid the drizzle and then steadier rain, and soon began to hear thunder in the distance. The sound of the rumbling reminded me of when I was a boy in sleepaway camp, when on some days the hot weather would give way to strong thunder and lightning, cooling the afternoon heat. I remembered those days with fondness, even though I did not always have pleasant experiences, nor good memories of the time. The ducks and squirrels in the park seem unfazed by the thunder, and appeared to relish in the wet weather. I also saw the hints of an dark rainbow at about this time.
As I continued walking, the thunder became more intense, and suddenly the muted colors brightened from the first hint of lightning. The flashes struck me as so unusual that it crossed my mind that a studio photographer's flood lights had momentarily flashed (I knew that thought didn't make sense, but that's honestly what occurred to me), and as the flashes became louder, brighter, and closer to the rumbles that proceeded them, the people who were there seemed to grow as excited as me. We all seemed to be sharing in our witness to a remarkable event.
It dawned on me at that time that I felt very free just then; it was as if this thunder and lightning had transported me back to the times I'd experienced them in the past, amid all of the pain and anxiety of those times, and temporarily cleansed them from my present.
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