Relative Something

Yesterday my day started and ended with lightning and thunder.

I arrived at work just ahead of a storm-front that, when it finally reached us, turned the view out our windows so dark it startled me when I walked by. Then came one of those ‘flash-BANG’ strikes of lightning that was so close our power did something of a hiccup and some things went off, but others stayed on. It turned out that we had lost one phase of AC power to our building, so some outlets were live, and others, not. In our main room of assembly stations, the overhead fluorescent lights were off, but the workbench lamps were still on. It looked like the each person was working at their own little campfire in the dark of night.

The evening storm at home wasn’t too problematic, …at first. I noticed the broadcast of the Twins game suffered a few pauses, as if the weather was messing with the signal from the cable company. Then another of those ‘flash-BANGs’ hit and our power bounced off and on one time. Everything appeared to be functioning just fine. A short while after that, the sirens started. First, a police car, followed by an emergency rescue van, and ultimately three fire engines turning right at our corner to reach the houses up the street. There was a pause in the rain, so I wandered out to the curb at the intersection and enjoyed a pleasant visit with my neighbors while we waited to learn what happened.

The story I heard is that the strike targeted the natural gas meter of one of the houses. The problem though, was people in multiple houses were reporting the smell of gas in their homes. I don’t envy the folks whose responsibility it is to solve that issue.

It started to rain again and I went back in to watch the Twins finish off the White Sox and reclaim first place in their division, hoping those two close strikes of lightning in one day will buy me a long stretch of time until I’m due for another.