| The hot chocolate machine chugged eagerly that morning. A gentle mist rolled off the lake, covering the sleepy beach town like a thick comforter. Headlights from the odd car shone through the fog like beacons drawing your gaze up the road that was lined on either side by tiny shops and restaurants. The few people who dotted the beach were mostly lifeguards. A dollar seventy-five - I had taken in only a dollar seventy-five after two hours of work. It was going to be a long day. Despite the dreary weather it was humid. The air had become something-tangible making breathing a chore. It swirled about in a visible pattern made of condensed rain. The radio echoed noisily in the background. I strained to hear what was being said from the storage room of the tiny beach house concession stand. A �Severe Thunder Storm warning� was repeated several times. I shrugged thinking it was no big deal. Storms come and go throughout the summer especially in this kind of weather. CRASH! I jumped and cursed loudly as a case of Mountain Dew toppled over from a wobbly stack of soda cases. Laughter floated lazily through the air from the front counter of the beach house. I smiled sweetly to my co-worker and resumed stacking the cases. During the methodical work, something I heard on the television a few days earlier was brought to mind. The tornadoes had left a carnivorous path of destruction throughout Oklahoma and I wondered briefly if the same could happen here. Tia, my co-worker, scrambled into the back room urging me to follow her. We dashed out of the beach house and stood in awe at the sight we beheld. Out over the lake a gathering of dark ominous clouds loomed in the distance like a predator stalking its prey. Fork lightning darted forward like a viporous sharp edged tongue. The Lifeguards were frenzied as they scurried about the oblivious desolate beach posting red flags of warning and ushering straggling tourists away from the water and advising them to seek cover. One of the lifeguards peered into the distance with a pair of binoculars. Tia and I could not help but stand and stare hypnotized by the imposing storm which promised to soon create a spectacular show. The feeling left an eerie impression in the air. Forboading clouds had now surrounded us from both sides. Someone had turned the radio up and the loud voice confirmed the sighting of tornadoes located just west of our vicinity. Winds howled and whipped at our hair as the unseen force made its presence known. By this time we had made our way to the edge of the beach and were standing with the Lifeguards as the storm slowly plotted its way forward. The waves had become massive; their chaotic frothing whitecaps were tearing into the sandy shore like the many viciously jagged teeth of a shark. All at once it hit. Hail pelted down with a force that stung as we sprinted through the clinging sand to the protection of our tiny beach house. The rain was hard and made it difficult to see as I desperately wiped my eyes with frantic pallid fingers. We made one last mad dash before plunging into the warm protective shelter of the beach house. I breathed a sigh of relief as we finally made it. Tia and I along with a few other stragglers huddled together beneath wool blankets and wet clothing. The beach house had quickly become a tiny Island of its own, surrounded on all sides by a mote of opaque muddy water. The turnabout in the road that lay just ahead of us was also filling up in a hurry. Cars parted the surging waters as they drove about the turn in a desperate attempt to make their escape. We watched eagerly as the waters were rising above the wheels and licked at the door handles of each car that passed. Dangerous fork lightning darted all about us threatening to target anything it deemed worthy of a smiting. We heard the faint wail of a frightened child in the distance who clung to her mother�s leg as if it were a life preserver in the midst of a raging sea. All around furious winds whipped and tangled tree limbs and branches into a gnarled mess. Many of these branches were ripped from their origin and sailed freely through the air bouncing off of impending obstacles. Minutes seemed like hours as I began to wonder if the storm would ever cease its warfare. A mild and warm breeze lazily floated from the South. Its gentle touch seemed to ease the storm�s frenzy and gradually the rain slowed to a light drizzle. The winds ceased their swarthy attack on the trees, drifting past as if the assault had never occurred. The sky�s ominous disposition eased to a simple dismal gray. Those of us who had hid beneath the shield of blankets let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. We were grateful for the warm shelter that the old worn 1956 beach house had provided us with. One by one, people emerged from their own hiding places. We all had a good laugh when a couple brave souls brought out some kayaks and fabricated a parody in the newly established river located on Main Street. As we all gathered the necessary tools to join in the clean up, I thought to myself, it hadn�t been a boring day after all. |
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| OMINOUS HORIZON |