Thunderstorms - Thunder Storms

We've certainly had our fair share of thunderstorms with lightning here lately (applies most summers in August, living in Phoenix, AZ.)

At the first sign of a thunderstorm, I already know to run outside real quick and turn off my sprinkler system!  It seems like I bring these thunderstorms on myself by the simple act of watering my lawn!

I go back inside and watch from the window to see what the lightning is doing.  If the lightning zotz are striking in my general direction, I begin to pay closer attention to the rumble of the thunder.  When the sound of the thunder happens at the same time as the lightning, then that's my signal that it's close, VERY close!

When my lights begin to flicker, because of the thunderstorms, my computer begins to stammer, studder, sweat and shake.  It can't function for naught! (heh-heh, just like I do when I log off-line for any amount of time!)

At this point, of course, and only as a precaution, I make sure I turn my computer off and unplug it from the wall.  I read somewhere recently that its the safe thing to do during thunderstorms.

Now it's ANYone's guess as to at what point one does this...  Is it when you feel it (the thunderstorm) in your bones ... or just when you notice there's a thunderstorm a brewin' clear across the valley?

Or, do you unplug at the first sign of a sprinkle, in anticipation of a thunderstom?  Do you wait til the National Weather Service posts an on-screen warning on your TV? (I wait for the day when NOAA displays the warnings on my PC instead!)  Or do you start counting at the first sign of thunder and unplug when the number between the lightning and sound of the thunder is under the count of "one"?

Some people in the valley here had some pretty touch and go episodes with the weather recently, i.e., tornado sightings, roofs being ripped off mobile homes, trees uprooted, cars misplaced.

Well, let me tell you this, folks. With the computer turned off, our family had to interact for the first time in months.  Besides the computer being off-limits during the thunderstorm, I also placed a moratorium on television and telephone activity.

We held a family vigil for about four hours last night.  It was touch and go for awhile ... It wasn't easy folks. We had to learn to talk again!

We spent three hours just arguing over whether there really was a thunderstorm outside!

We were so busy with our own fight-storm inside the house, we hardly noticed that the danger had subsided.

By the end of the evening, our little cyberless-wireless family learned how to play family games, solve differences, and actually laugh together.