Do This More Often

I’m sitting on the couch in my apartment with all the lights off, everything off except the overhead fan which is imperceptible. The storm is directly overhead and the thunder is so loud that a second ago when I looked out my window I saw my neighbor, wearing a pink halter, jump at the peal. The dog is so stressed out by this entire turn of events that she can’t sit still, and despite my attempts to coax her into sitting next to me is on her way to the tub which she thinks is the safest place in the apartment. I heard her nails clicking on the porcelain a minute ago.

I love the sound of a good storm.

I remember being much younger visiting North Carolina, after returning from a night of roller skating, no doubt with hillbillies and inbred stepsisters, there was the kind of storm you cannot have in New York City, the kind of storm you can only have where there is so much more sky. I still think this was the biggest thunderstorm I have ever witnessed; it seemed that way at the time.

The storm sounds like it’s moved off a bit, but judging by the sky which is constantly lit up with lightning, you wouldn’t think so, but you can tell by the thunder, that the worst has passed for the time being. The thunder is like a low roll, punctuated by enormous cracks, but the cracks are duller, are more distant, not as immediate, as they were when Kinka was considering a future in a tub that only she can sit in.

I would give anything for a porch right now, a way to be closer to this storm, but well that’s New York City for you. Still there is So Much Sound right now. . It sounds like the storm is coming back but if you count the seconds between lightning and thunder, there are too many for it to be that close, there’s no conjunction now. The rain just shifted somewhat, so instead of just the steady drizzle, there is now the patter against the air conditioner and the sounds of the storm are fading.  The human noises in the background are picking up, people shrieking, car alarms. The worst of it has definitely passed. Someone should let the dogs know.