Steel helmets, golf clubs, and lightning

I do not like lightning, hot one little bit. Rumor was that an uncle of mine was struck by lightning when he was a kid. I cannot testify to the validity of the account but, from an early age, I was taught that lightning was downright deadly.

Throughout the years, I have noticed that, on a regular basis, people die from lightning strikes. Once in awhile, news agencies will report that golfers who were on the course during a lightning storm have been killed.

Why in the world people would carry around portable lightning rods and point them at the sky is a mystery to me. It’s as if they are daring the forces of nature to do their worst.

When I was in the Marine Corps I often dreaded guard duty. The reason? Lightning. Back in those days, the men on duty wore a steel helmet, carried a belt with metal implements on it, and sported either a loaded shotgun or an M-16.

I could almost feel the lightning waiting for a chance to fry me. I didn’t know if lightning would also cause the shotgun shells or the ammunition rounds to explode. I figured that if the bolt hit the steel on my head, I wouldn’t be around to hear the shells go off anyway.

A lightning bolt can generate a temperature of 50,000 degrees — hotter than the surface of the sun. Every year, an average of 62 people in the United States are killed by lightning strikes — the same number of deaths that occur from tornados. Over 500 people are injured each year in the U.S. by lightning.

A few nights ago, lightning hit a tree in our back yard, just a few feet from where the grandchildren regularly play. The top of the tree was blown off and the strike literally caused the large tree to explode.

Large limbs were found the neighbor’s swimming pool next door, other limbs were blown over the house into the front yard, and the wooden shrapnel fragments littered the yard and penetrated the lattice on our deck.

I could only imagine what would be left of a human being if the lightning bolt had hit them instead of a tree.

No place, it seems, is safe from this deadly threat. In December 2005, 11 people from the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) in Chiseng’ezi Church in Malawi were struck dead by lightning while attending a church service. Five others were seriously injured.

Those attending the service were mostly young people who had gathered for a yearly meeting, which takes place before Christmas to strategize on activities for the festive period. While they were at the church a violent thunderstorm ensued.

“The lightning struck, killing all 11 at once. We are totally shocked by this tragedy,” said the Rev. Joseph Mwale a Presbyterian minister from a nearby church.

Anyway, I am taking no chances. When the lightning comes, I am out of the pool, off the field, away from the windows, out of the shower, and safely in the house.

Wary of lightning? You betcha. Afraid? Perhaps.

But if anyone wants to take a chance, be my guest. Grab the clubs and head for the golf course. And while you are at it, put on a steel helmet. It makes you a better target.