Work Stories: Episode 4: Here Comes the Boom

Previously on Work Stories, I relayed the tale of the time that I saw a giant penis and a giant hand while walking through a parking lot.  That is an image that will stay in my mind forever.  This wasn’t much of a story.  It was more of an observance than a story.  Tonight, I have another observance.  I’ll try to be shorter with this one.

I was working at the museum one night during the worst summer storm of the year.  There was thunder, rain, wind.  There was all of that stuff.  The wind was so bad that there was a tornado warning in my area.  There typically aren’t tornado warnings around here, so this was a big deal.  It was the storm of the year, and it was happening while I was at work.

It’s pouring rain.  The wind is howling.  Every once in a while, lightning flashes across the sky, and the loud boom of the following thunder rolls through the night.

I was sitting behind the cash register watching this storm happen, about ten feet away from me.  I like the sound of rain.  It’s both frightening and peaceful at the same time.  I don’t care that ten feet away from me are high winds, pouring rain, and threatening lightning.  It’s calming to me for whatever reason.

My coworker was afraid of the storm.  We were complete opposites in terms of how we handled the storm.  I had no problem going outside, if need be, as long as I wasn’t on or holding metal.  That would be insane.  My coworker, however, was cowering inside.  I don’t mean the ten feet inside.  I mean that my coworker was so far back that she could barely see outside.

At one point, a very loud crash of thunder shook through the city.  My coworker let out a shriek to rival the immense sound of the thunder.  This was one of the loudest screams I had ever heard.  I’m surprised I can still hear after the overwhelming volume of that scream.

We laughed about that for a while.  Then the two of us saw someone coming across the street.  It was a worker from the store across the street.  She wanted to know if we were okay.  Apparently, she had heard the sound of my coworker screaming from across the street, through the thunder and pouring rain.  That is how loud the yelp was.

Hey, not every story I have can be all that entertaining.  I know that this “loud scream” is no hand and penis or sex van.  It’s simply something that I remember happening while I was at work.  I thought you might have even the smallest interest in reading about it.  You probably don’t.  I don’t care either way.  I’m putting it out there.  I find it funny enough.