Mark,   
      
   MH>When I was around 10 years old, I was looking outside my bedroom window duri   
   MH>storm and lightning hit our garage right in front of me.  All I saw was whit   
   MH>light and an instant VERY loud boom.   
      
   MH>The lightning had hit the corner of our garage and caught it on fire.  I had   
   MH>go out there and put it out with the hose.  I'll never forget that one!   
      
     That's definitely too close for comfort.   
      
     My 2 strikes, as it were, occurred at 3 and 16 years of age...both in   
   Florida.   
      
     With the first one, we had coconut palm trees in our front yard, and I   
   was sitting on the couch by the plate glass window in our living room,   
   watching the lightning dance across the sky (thinking "this is cool!!").   
      
     One of the coconut palm tree fronds was on the house, and lightning   
   hit the tree. My hands were on the metal part of the window frame, which   
   had moisture condensation on it prior to the strike, so I really got   
   zapped. My Mom was going to close the blinds, and as the strike hit,   
   sparks flew from the blinds to her finger. I started screaming bloody   
   murder, both from the flash of lightning, the crash of thunder, and the   
   resulting shock.   
      
     The strike also blew tiles off of the bathroom wall, sent sparks out   
   the back of the house, and the neighbors across the street said "it   
   looked like the house was encased in a ball of fire". My Dad called the   
   fire department to come by to check for electrical damage.   
      
     For about 10 years afterwards, you could NOT take a flash picture of   
   me, as I would literally scream in terror from the "flashback"...pun   
   intended.   
      
     The second strike was after I had finished delivering an afternoon   
   newspaper route for The Miami News (long since gone), on my bicycle, in   
   a pouring tropical thunderstorm...I looked like I had jumped into the   
   swimming pool fully dressed. When I got home, I closed the garage door,   
   put my bike up, and went to strip out of my wet clothes. Just as I put   
   my still wet hand on the washing machine to steady myself so I could get   
   undressed, lightning hit the house again!!   
      
     However, I will note that I carry no electrical charge, and I can be   
   handled safely.    
      
   Daryl   
      
   ---   
    þ OLX 1.53 þ Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.   
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
                                                                                     
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