Stormy Weather

Stormy Weather - Long ago and far away, Sammy Cahn said,

"Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky
Stormy weather.
All I do is pray the Lord above will let me walk in the sun once more."

Yesterday, stormy weather fell upon this area—following weeks of beautiful sunshine and relative warmth.

A tornado missed Corning only by a few miles—striking the neighboring city of Gerber. Fortunately, damage was minimal. A barn lost its roof—the only victim of the tornado.

I tracked the tornado as it traveled eastward toward Corning. The Weather Channel posted severe storm warnings for Corning, indicating the tornado was on track to hit Corning. At 2:45 PM, the warnings were lifted, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Early in the morning, the sky was blue and clear, and the Sun beamed brightly. For a few minutes in the late morning, the sky darkened suddenly, clouds appeared, the Sun disappeared, and rain fell. This was a brief, light rainfall, and soon the sky was blue and clear once again, and the Sun reappeared.

In the neighboring city of Orland, a hailstorm greeted soccer players, and the soccer field quickly became covered with hailstones. The hailstorm was significant,and the soccer field soon appeared as if covered with snow.

On her way home, Laura encountered what appeared to be snow when she neared Corning. This was hail, also.

Today, the Lord has answered my prayers, and He is allowing me to "...walk in the sun once more."

Fighting Back, Not Holding the Bag, -and- The Sting

Fighting Back - 7-year-old girl takes on armed robber
Not Holding the Bag - ill-prepared bank robber has no place to put money
The Sting - Spain hauls in 8 tons of jellyfish from beaches

On this day in history: August 8, 1960 - Brian Hyland's song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini" reaches number one on the pop charts.

Born on this day in history: August 8, 1908 - Arthur J. Goldberg (1908 - 1990) supreme court justice, ambassador. He served as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1962-65) and U.S. representative to the United Nations (1965-68).

Today's Video: Gun Control - submitted by Frank

[While I slept] I attended a rock concert with friends. When the concert ended, I excused myself to use the restroom. When I returned to where I had left my friends, they were gone. I walked out of the building and to the spot where the car in which we had traveled to the concert had been parked, and it was gone. I looked around, and the street was dark and void of cars and people. I saw a telephone booth in the distance and began walking to it.

Suddenly, from an alleyway, three scofflaws emerged, descended upon me, and demanded my money. Instinctively, I reached for my Sig Sauer P229 and quickly realized I had left it at home due to restrictions imposed by the concert venue. There was no place near to which I could run to safety, and their number did not invite refusal of their demands.

Just as I was about to reach into my pocket and proffer my wallet to the miscreants, a large female leopard emerged from the darkness, came quickly to my side, stood next to me, and growled fiercely. One of the hoodlums produced a large knife and advanced, menacingly, toward the leopard.

It happened so quickly that what took place did not immediately register in my mind: With an incredible display of power and speed, the leopard swiped the would-be robber’s neck with her massive paw—claws outstretched. The gash that appeared in the assailant’s neck was so deep and large, his head was nearly separated from his body. His lifeless corpse fell at the feet of his companions.

Before the others could gather their wits and retreat, the leopard was upon them. She quickly dispatched both of them, walked to me, sat and began cleaning the blood from her paws with her large tongue.

I thanked the leopard and told her that I wished to name her and that I would name her Storm. She seemed pleased with her new name and purred loudly. When I began walking to the telephone booth, Storm sat up and followed me. I decided to walk home, rather than take a cab. It was a warm night, it would be a pleasant walk, and with Storm at my side, I need fear nothing.

Storm followed me all the way to my home. I lived in the country and had several acres of trees, gardens, outbuildings, and a small pond. I sat on the front porch of my house and stroked Storm and thanked her again. I grew tired. I walked Storm to the small barn, made a nice bed for her of straw in the barn, and brought her a bowl of spring water and a bowl of leftover grilled chicken. As she ate and drank, I stroked her massive body and said, “Good night, Storm. I shall see you in the morning.”

Upon arising, I dressed quickly and rushed to the barn to greet Storm. She was not there. My immediate thought was this had all been a dream. Then, I saw the proof that Storm had been real: The water bowl and food bowl lay there, empty, and the imprint of Storm's massive body could be seen in the hay.

Fighting Back, Stormy Weather, -and- Sleep Well

Fighting Back - retired Marine tackles bank robber
Stormy Weather - iPod users report lightning strikes
Sleep Well - new bed mattress costs $60,000

On this day in history: July 12, 1843 - Mormon leader Joseph Smith discloses a divine revelation instructing his followers to take multiple wives, in what the LDS Church calls "plural marriage" but everyone else calls polygamy. The Mormons are ultimately forced to disclaim the practice in September 1890.

Born on this day in history: July 12, Oscar Hammerstein (1895 - 1960) lyricist, musical comedy author He was influential in the development of musical comedy; known especially for his collaboration with the composer Richard Rodgers.

Today's Video: Anti-Helium Makes Jay Leno Talk Like Ving Rhames - submitted by Chris

The weatherpeople were right! It rained yesterday! It rained lightly for approximately 15 seconds. It rained sufficiently that the coating of dust on Mr. Nitro turned to mud. It was most unseemly for Mr. Nitro to appear in public in this condition. I took him to the car wash and cleaned him thoroughly. I then drove him to the river and back to air-dry him. He was most grateful.