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During the last hour at work today a storm started brewing.  Not some wussy storm, but the kind that blackens the sky and bring with it high winds, thunder and lightning.  Being from California, I am not accustomed to this type of weather.  Because of this I am always in awe when storms roll through so quickly and violently.  Having never experienced one of these storms while at work, I thought I simply had a sense of childlike wonder whenever I was entranced with the weather.  My coworkers, however, quickly asked if I was afraid of the lightning.  “No, of course not!” was my first reaction, and it was truthful at the time.  I wasn’t afraid of the lightning.  But if I was ever talking to someone and a streak of lightning splashed across the sky I would falter, losing my train of thought and submit to my infantile slackjawed stare into the sky.  Was this more than just a distraction?  I did seem intimidated by the lightning.

After I got home I decided to do a bit of reading.  The first thing I ran across was this:

Astrapophobia-

Astraphobia, also known as Brontophobia, Keraunophobia, or Tonitrophobia, is an abnormal fear of thunder and lightning, a type of a specific phobia. -wikipedia

Thanks for all of the insight, wikipedia.  There is no detail, explanation, history…nothing.  And that is the same for almost every search on the term.  But what I have to think about is if my fear is “abnormal.”  I guess at this point I would say yes, since nobody else seemed to become stupified by streaks of light.  But I wouldn’t say my fear is extreme in any way, and probably wouldn’t even be considered a phobia.

What I find funny is that although I may have a slight obsession with lightning, I am in no way fearful of the rain, or driving through it for that matter.  Drainage is surprisingly terrible along Atlanta’s roads, so if you drive in the right lane you are inevitably forced to drive through massive flowing rivers of water that have no place to escape.  Most people choose to go around those.  I drive through them.  Yes, it is dangerous.  I know this.  But it is FUN.  It is absolutely illogical to combine dangerous driving conditions, an expensive piece of metal, and high speeds, but I just cannot help it.  I may fear lightning, but I thrive on watching the water shoot up around both sides of my car.  I consider it the ultimate goal if I can spray so much up that my entier windshield is covered with water.  Just writing this makes me think I might have a few screws loose.

Revel in the glory of a car fanning its water wings like a liquid peacock.

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