Our Punaverse

The week started out fairly quiet as usual in my little corner of the Punaverse, here in Nanavale.

Monday morning was like any other day of the week: the morning rain, cars, trucks and buses carrying the kids off for another day of education, fun and enlightenment at the local schools. Cars going by carrying folks off to work in Pahoa. Hilo and beyond plus people off to do errands of all kinds....normal stuff.

Tuesday was a bit more exciting. We had the same traffic in the morning but there was something else moving around as well...a bit more ominous over our heads. It was a tremendous thunder storm that rolled in and announced its arrival with a low rumbling of thunder that made the dogs shiver and head for cover. There were no Doves sitting on my fence this morning, not even on the power lines and there was no sound of any birds chirping or the screech of the Hawks.  Lightning could be seen traveling across the dark sky in a miles-wide path that made me think of Thor and the Battle of the Titans taking place overhead. They were sure goin' at it!

I was kind of enjoying the show from my lanai with my morning coffee. A flash and one one thousand, two one thousand....OK. A few miles away over the ocean the cool moist clouds were bumping into the warmer island clouds, one one thousand, two one thousand and more deep grumbling angry thunder. By mid morning I gave up trying to work and shut my computers down and unplugged EVERYTHING. It was getting too close and I was a bit nervous. Another Very Bright flash. one one thou....and BOOM. The thunder was deafening overhead and even the house shook in fear!

What happened next was not good....a bright flash and BOOM! I hit the deck thinking the house next door just exploded! It was that close! Then another one, louder and brighter and I hit the deck again. It was like a 500 lb. bomb just exploded next door. Hell, this was no thunderstorm. We are being attacked by the North Koreans or China or terrorists or maybe Aliens. That's it....it was really a War of the Worlds. I just knew it. Hey guys, sorry 'bout those probes up on Mars...just pokin' around, doin' a little exploring. Didn't know anyone was home! And that other probe headed for Uranus...that wasn't us, that was NASA, not us. We're really cool people down here. Hey. Got some Lau Lau here...friend:)  Poke? Flash. Boom again. Ooops. Sorry 'bout that.

At this point there were a lot of puppies and big dogs peeing on the porch or under the bed or any other place they could find shelter from the storm. I had fewer options. I'm too big to fit under the bed, I have no basement or shelter to go to. So I did what any other brave Marine would do in this situation, I laid down on the couch and covered my head with a blanket with one eye on the floor. I didn't want to look out the window to see the next flash in fear of my eyes being burned out of their sockets! Jumpin' Jack Flash, It's a Gas. Right!

The power went out at 12:30 and the war went on and on and on.  

It is mid-morning the day after the war and the daily traffic carrying folks to school and work has disappeared and it is quiet here on my lanai. The soft rain can be heard landing on the metal roof and the palms are doing their morning dance with the trades once again. The morning sun is trying to shine through the clouds as the doves fly about between raindrops. The coffee is good as is life this morning in my little part of the punaverse. I think I'll go in and write a story for the Blog.

What a great adventure that was and a sure cure for Writer's Block!

J.Osprey