I have spent the week up in Oxford Mississippi visiting with my son. Yesterday evening, I drove down to Tupelo where Melaleuca, a company I have associated with for years was presenting some new products. Just at the end of my meeting my cell phone rang and my son said "They are beginning a Tornado watch in Lafeyette county, and if you haven't left for home you ought to leave soon. The storm that is coming in looks terrible."

WE bid farewell to the folks we had just met (Tupelo is not my regular stomping grounds) went to the car and departed. We had gone about twenty five of the forty five miles from Oxford to Tupelo without seeing a drop of rain, so I concluded that we were "home free", when suddenly there were a few drops of rain followed almost instantly by a torrent that was almost beyond belief. For the next ten to twelve miles I could only barely see the road. I was aware because of the flashers that some cars had pulled off to the side, but I couldn't see the side well enough to be sure of what was there. (It doesn't help to pull off where there is a twenty foot drop) One large ten wheel wrecker pulling a large enclosed truck passed me, (he obviously had either better visbility than I or he just didn't give a damn, but for the next five miles, having him in front of mee with all his lights on helped with my visibility.

I have driven through gulley washers (an Idaho term) many times, but not quite like that. I found my self shifting from bright to dim because the visibility was sometimes better with one than the other (bright usually causes reflections and is often treacherous. When we finally reached the outskirts of Oxford, my shoulders felt like a rod of hot metal had been pushed though to connect the two. When it dropped off to just pouring rain, I was seriously relieved , and I can't remember a time when it was more pleasant to leave a car, take a couple of ibuprofen (if I weren't Mormon, it probably would have been something stronger than Ibuprofen) and lie down. This morning the weather is, of course , delightful.