Storm

It was about 4 o'clock on Thursday. I was sitting at our local Starbucks working on the sermon for Sunday. I started considering heading home since it looked like it might begin to rain. The next moment it got really dark, wet and scary. Everyone inside turned towards the windows and uttered phrases like the deceitfully religious "Oh, my God", the Chicago favorite "Holy Cow" and the ever popular "Wow". The storm hit suddenly and without hesitation. Somehow water was coming down while the wind was blowing outside umbrellas and lawn chairs in various directions. Several trees on the street were brought down within the first gust of wind. Transformers in the alley popped and power went out. All of this happened in the first minute or two. I called Gillian and she said that the two huge trees in front of our house came down and were resting on the power lines. I ran, or, more accurately, swam home as fast as I could. The girls were pretty scared, which is somewhat amusing since one their favorite pretend games is "Blackout" (a close second is "Mom and Dad die and we have to take care of the baby"). The storm was over in about 10-15 minutes. Everyone came outside to see what the damage was. Below are some pictures.