April 2006 Archives

Missed 'em both:

1. The Maryland Terrapins women's basketball team clinching their first NCAA championship. I had the game on early in the second half when the Terps were down by 11 against a more experienced Duke team. Thought I, "They can't win," only to awaken this morning to find out just how bad my judgment is, and just how determined Maryland was. Congratulations to everyone on the team; they certainly deserve the title. I can only hope Gary Williams had each and every one of his basketball players watching the game, strapped to chairs, wearing those can't-turn-your-head-or-close-your-eyes contraptions Alex had on in A Clockwork Orange. Just one more thing: Brenda Frese for governor.

2. 01:02:03 on 04/05/06. Slept right through it. What kind of story does that give me for my grandchildren? What will they think?

K-

Pick him up in the parking lot of his high school just as jazz band rehearsal is getting out with Birding by Ear blaring on the car stereo.

"Listen to the difference between the black-capped and the Carolina chickadees..."
K-

I was sitting in a restaurant last night when I noticed the sky outside was looking ominous and getting extremely dark. Almost scary dark. I could see the clouds moving in from west to east as if following the strip malls along Route 40. Lightning began to flash.

It wasn't very long before the rain started. Sheets of it falling at a 45 degree angle. And, of course, that was about the time I had to dash out into the parking lot to get to the car. I was fairly soaked by the time I got in.

The drive back to my house was not far... maybe 5 miles. Heading west I started to notice this white debris on the road that I initially took to be petals from all the flowering trees. Only when the road was completely covered did I realize it was hail. In a small localized area just west of the restaurant, buckets of hail had fallen along with the rain. I haven't seen hail in ages. Big mounds of pea-sized hail had blown up against my garage door that crunched underneath my tires as I drove into the garage. Handfuls of it were in the driveway. I can't remember when I've seen so much.

It was almost a treat.

Maryland doesn't get much bad weather; climate is fairly tame around here. This is not to say we don't ever see Mother Nature's fury. We get thunderstorms but not the kick-ass bad boys I used to see in Michigan and Missouri. A tornado or two will touch down each year somewhere in the state but they're always the effete East Coast variety. (Save the F4 that hit southern Maryland a few years ago.) Weak-kneed tropical storms blow through every few years causing problems. I'd venture that the worst storms we regularly see are the nor'easters that blow up the coast during the winter.

I'll have to check for hail damage. Maybe I can make a claim.
K-

Happy birthday, A-.
K-