Life is Beautiful

            The wind whistles as it brushes gently past my ear. It’s cool. The sun hasn’t been out today. Instead, I’ve had nothing but the dark Cumulonimbus clouds for company. It’s going to rain. I can smell it. You might find it odd, but I love thunderstorms. They fascinate me. Oh…it’s starting to rain. I need to get to an open area. As I walk the trail around Broad River it begins to rain harder. I can feel a few stray drops hit me sometimes, but the trees keep me sheltered for the most part.

           Now I can hear thunder. It’s faint, but it’s starting to pick up. And where’s there’s thunder, there’s lightning. Maybe today will be the day I finally catch it. I always try to get pictures of it. It’s a tricky thing to do. You have to have quick reflexes and be extremely alert. You’ve only got about a half-second window. You have to click the button before it strikes to catch it. And there it is. Time to get to work.

           I’ve been at it for two hours now. Still no luck. The rain is slowing. The thunder is faint again. It looks like I missed my chance. I’ll just have to try again some other day. I shut off my camera and place it in my bag. I’m completely soaked now. Even the inside of my shoes are wet. I shoulder my bag and begin making my way back down the trail. It’s dark now. I turn back for one last look at the water, and I see it. A bright-white bolt crashed against the surface of the river. It was so bright I was temporarily blinded. So I pulled out my camera and got back to work.



…life is beautiful.