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THE STORM CLOUD

 

 

 

THE STORM CLOUD

 

 

 

 

I RAN THE BOAT UP INTO THE BOAT TUNNEL OF THE DUCK BLIND.  THE BOAT TUNNEL HAD A SHEET METAL ROOF AND THAT WOULD KEEP THE RAIN OFF US.  I SWIVELED AROUND IN MY BOAT SEAT AND LOOKED AT JOHNNIE.  JUST THEN HAIL STONES AS BIG AS GOLF BALLS STARTED POUNDING THE SHEET METAL ROOF.  THE WAVES WERE ROCKING THE BOAT FROM ONE SIDE OF THE TUNNEL TO THE OTHER.  BUT MAYBE I BETTER START AT THE BEGINNING SO YOU WILL UNDER STAND WHAT IS GOING ON.

 

 

JOHNNIE AND I HAD GONE TO TUCKER’S CAMP ON CADDO LAKE FOR THE MONTH OF MAY.  WE WERE STAYING IN THE CABIN ACROSS THE DRIVE FROM MRS. TUCKERS HOUSE.  WE REFERRED TO THIS CABIN AS OUR CABIN BECAUSE THAT IS ALL WAYS WHERE WE STAYED.  WE HELPED MRS. TUCKER AROUND THE CAMP FOR PART OF OUR RENT AND WE HAD BEEN FIXING UP AND PAINTING THE INSIDE OF THIS CABIN.

 

WE HAD A BUNCH OF LIMB LINES OUT AND HAD BEEN CATCHING LOTS OF CATFISH.  WE HAD CAUGHT SEVERAL FLATHEAD CATFISH OVER TWENTY POUNDS.  WE WERE USING LIVE BREAM AS BAIT ON OUR LIMB LINES.  WE WOULD GO OUT IN THE AFTERNOON AND CATCH A BUNCH OF BREAM AND BAIT OUR LINES AND THEN GO BACK AND RUN THEM THE NEXT MORNING.

 

ON THIS AFTERNOON IT LOOKED LIKE IT MIGHT RAIN.  I TOLD JOHNNIE TO COME ON AND LET’S GO CATCH SOME BREAM AND GET SOME LINES BAITED BEFORE IT STARTED RAINING.  “YOU KNOW HOW THOSE BIG FLATHEAD CATFISH LIKE TO MOVE AROUND AND FEED WHEN IT IS RAINING.”

 

JOHNNIE ASKED, “ARE YOU GOING TO BAIT ANY OF THE CHANNEL CAT LINES WITH WEENIES TODAY?”

 

“FROM THE LOOKS OF THESE CLOUDS, I DON’T THINK WE WILL HAVE TIME THIS AFTERNOON.  LET’S JUST BAIT THE FLATHEAD LINES.”

 

SO WE GOT OUR STYROFOAM CUPS OF RED WIGGLER WORMS AND WENT DOWN TO THE BOAT.  OUR BREAM POLES WERE ALREADY IN THE BOAT.  I CRANKED UP THE MOTOR AND WE RAN OUT TO SOME STUMPS, WHERE WE HAD BEEN CATCHING BREAM.  I TIED THE BOAT TO ONE OF THE STOMPS AND WE STARTED FISHING.  IT WAS CLOUDY AND THE BREAM WERE SLOW TO BITE.

 

WE HAD ONLY CAUGHT NINE WHEN JOHNNIE SAID, “THAT CLOUD ON THE HORIZON IS AWFULLY BLACK AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS COMING OUR WAY.”

 

“YOUR RIGHT, LET’S RUN BAIT NINE LINES WITH THE BREAM WE HAVE AND GO IN BEFORE WE GET CAUGHT IN THE RAIN.” I ANSWERED.

 

I UNTIED THE BOAT AND CRANKED UP THE MOTOR AND RAN OVER TO JOHN’S HOLE, WHERE WE HAD SOME LINES.  I SHUT OFF THE MOTOR JUST AS WE GOT TO THE FIRST TREE AND DROPPED THE TROLLING MOTOR.  I TROLLED UP TO THE LIMB THAT HAD OUR LINE TIED TO IT AND BAITED THAT LINE.  THEN I TROLLED DOWN TO THE NEXT TREE AND BAITED THAT LINE.  THIS WENT ON UNTIL I HAD USED ALL NINE OF OUR BREAM.

 

THEN I PULLED UP THE TROLLING MOTOR AND CRANKED THE BIG MOTOR AND HEADED FOR THE BOAT RUN.  BY THIS TIME THAT BLACK CLOUD WAS ON TOP OF US AND I COULD SEE THAT WE WERE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT BACK TO CAMP BEFORE IT STARTED RAINING.  I PULLED THE THROTTLE BACK INTO NEUTRAL AND REACHED INTO THE ROD BOX FOR OUR PONCHOS.

 

JUST THEN THE WIND WALL HIT US AND AS I STOOD UP TO PULL MY PONCHO DOWN OVER ME, THE WIND ALMOST BLEW ME OUT OF THE BOAT.  I FINALLY GOT MY HEAD POKED OUT OF THE HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PONCHO AND PULLED UP THE HOOD OVER MY HEAD.  I PULLED THE DRAW STRING REAL TIGHT AND TIED IT, SO ALL THAT WAS SHOWING WERE MY EYES.  I LOOKED BACK AT JOHNNIE AND SAW THAT SHE WAS IN HER PONCHO AND HAD TIED HER HOOD SO ALL THAT WAS SHOWING WAS HER FACE.

 

I SAT DOWN AND PUT THE MOTOR BACK IN GEAR AND STARTED FOR THE BOAT ROAD AGAIN.  WHEN I LOOKED UP I COULD SEE THE RAIN COMING, SO I TURNED AND MADE A RUN FOR A NEAR BY DUCK BLIND.  I RAN THE BOAT UP INTO THE BOAT TUNNEL ON THE BLIND JUST AS IT STARTED RAINING.  I TIED THE BOAT TO THE LADDER LEADING UP INTO THE BLIND AND SWIVELED MY SEAT AROUND TO LOOK AT JOHNNIE.  I PULLED MY HOOD DOWN AND GRINNED AT HER.  THE CORNERS OF HER MOUTH TURNED UP A LITTLE, BUT I COULDN’T TELL IF IT WAS A GRIN OR A GRIMACE.

 

THE RAIN WAS POUNDING SO HARD ON THE SHEET METAL ROOF OF THE BOAT TUNNEL WE COULDN’T HEAR EACH OTHER TALK.  JUST THEN HAIL STONES AS BIG AS GOLF BALLS STARTED POUNDING THE SHEET METAL ROOF.  THE WAVES WERE ROCKING THE BOAT FROM ONE SIDE OF THE TUNNEL TO THE OTHER.  THE LIGHTNING AND THUNDER WERE CONSTANT.  THEN THE HAIL PASSED ON OVER US AND IT WAS ONLY RAIN NOW.

 

THE THUNDER SOUNDED LIKE CANNONS IT WAS SO LOUD AND THE LIGHTNING LIGHTED UP THE SKY LIKE FLASH BULBS.  ALL AT ONCE THERE WAS A SHARP CRACK THAT WAS LOUDER THEN THE REST AND A BRILLIANT FLASH RIGHT OUTSIDE OF THE TUNNEL.

 

EVENTUALLY THE STORM CLOUD PASSED ON OVER AND IT WAS QUITE AGAIN.  THE RAIN HAD STOPPED AND THE SUN CAME OUT.  I UNTIED THE BOAT AND PUSHED US OUT OF THE DUCK BLIND TUNNEL.  NOT TWENTY YARDS AWAY WAS A CYPRESS TREE THAT HAD BEEN HIT BY LIGHTNING.  THE TOP TWO/THIRDS OF THE TREE HAD BEEN BLOWN OFF AND LAY IN THE WATER NEXT TO THE STUMP.  THE STUMP WAS STILL SMOKING.

 

“THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THAT LOUD CRACK AND BRILLIANT FLASH WE HEARD AND SAW.”  I TOLD JOHNNIE.

 

“I’M GLAD IT WAS THAT TREE AND NOT THE DUCK BLIND THE LIGHTNING HIT.”  SHE ANSWERED.

 

WE TOOK OFF OUR PONCHOS AND I PUT THEM BACK IN THE ROD BOX FOR THE NEXT TIME WE WOULD NEED THEM.  THEN I CRANKED THE MOTOR AND WENT BACK TO CAMP.

 

WHEN WE GOT THERE WE FOUND THAT IT HAD JUST SPRINKLED A LITTLE THERE.  THE STORM CLOUD HAD MISSED IT.

 

 

  BY LOREN MOORE

COPYRIGHT 2004

   SOUNDS . . . RAIN AND THUNDER

LOREN

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