People dream of experiencing this one day, too, Muskegon...

As beautiful as a blue sky in its own way...

"I get my best ideas in a thunderstorm. I have the power and majesty of nature on my side." --Ralph Steadman

No, really, Muskegon. Michigan (and much of the Midwest) is famous for its thunderstorms ... and people talk about them the way we talk about the Rocky Mountains or the Redwoods or the waters of the Caribbean. In awe. With excitement. With a deep yearning to experience them...

One of the first times I told someone outside the Midwest I was from Michigan, the person's eyes got really wide and she said, "Oh, you guys have the most beautiful thunderstorms." I was taken aback. I think I cocked my head and tried to think of how to answer ... Luckily, the other person with her joined in and said, "Oh, yes, the thunderstorms..." and they continued excitedly talking about them for a couple of minutes...

Honestly, I thought it was pretty funny and that those people must have been quite strange ... Until it happened again. And again...

Later, in another part of the country, I had another laugh when I saw the first commercial touting TVs that showed "amazing pictures of thunderstorms in the Midwest." Who watches thunderstorms on TV? People who don't experience them, that's who. And there are a LOT of people who don't get to experience them ... or not in the way we do here...

The hour-plus-long thunderstorm this morning that powerwashed the city while thunder rattled windows and lightning illuminated all nooks and crannies was a pretty amazing thing ... and after years away from thunder and lightning, I felt that excitement of someone experiencing something extraordinary ... along with new gratitude (and more fear than I remember, hehe).

The next couple of days are supposed to be dry, but another thunderstorm is on its way, and we all know how fast the weather can change in Michigan ... So, either we get to enjoy a nice summer day cooled down by our big storm today, or we get to relish another awesome storm ... Either way, we win.

See ya out enjoying the beautiful weather...

--Imaginer