Caught in a Severe Storm While Walking - How I Survived!

Walking along Palm Beach Gold Coast the weather suddenly turned nasty. First up I just felt a bit foolish walking on the beach soaking wet and looking like a drowned rat, pardon the expressions if you like rats (the four leg variety) and what were people saying as they sat in their beachfront properties dry and warm sipping a class of cold wine, looking at this fool caught in the rain, however those thoughts quickly disappeared.

The real storm rolled in from the sea! Thunder, lightning and wind, I didn't know what to do and panic set in, take shelter amongst the 'She Oaks" (trees) near the fitness camp and get struck by lightning, they are useless for protection anyway and you're not suppose to shelter beneath trees. The run up the beach towards vegetation was a fair hike, there were sand dunes and the tide was out and it looked a long way. Or stay put and take my chances of being struck by lightning out in the open!

What did I do? What any normal person would, started running. Have you ever run along a beach with the wind pushing against you, its hard work and throw into the mixed driving rain and stinging sand, thunder, which unnerves me at the best of times? The stories I heard as a child from my grandmother about 'God moving furniture around' never helped.

I always preferred the scientific approach where there smoke there's fire, (where's there's thunder there's lightning) and I couldn't crouch low to the ground in this open area I was next to the powerful pacific ocean roaring and pounding on the shoreline like a hungry beast waiting to devour anyone that got close. Water and electricity don't mix kept thumping through my head. A metal picture of me in rubber shoes, rubber gloves and holding a wooden spoon to turn on a faulty light flashed in my head.

Pushing forward with tremulous effort was all I could do, I couldn't see for starters, what I really needed was a couple of mini windscreen wipers on my sunglasses; couldn't take them off because of the stinging sands and couldn't see with them on. What a dilemma! Thoughts of how ridiculous I must look started creeping back into my mind.

Why would you even be concerned about your appearance when you think that you might die is beyond me. It's bizarre what floods into your mind at the most Inappropriate times.It must be some sort of mental mechanism to shut out what really is going on around you, a disbelief in the obvious.

The wind rain and sand were horrific yet I managed to push on and think nice thoughts, then suddenly everything stopped, no rain, no stinging sand and the wind abated, nearly home thank goodness. Looked down at myself and I resembled a cinnamon doughnut, the front of me only was covered in a layer of sand,

We're not just talking about a bit of sand sticking to my clothes they were heavy with the weight of it like a suit of Armour, walking with this stiff armour was uncomfortable. Looking down at myself I looked like a do-nut that fallen face first into a vat of cinnamon sugar. (Sand in this case)
My face and arms were red and stinging, imagine how much worse it would have been if it was dry sand!