There is Darkness and Beauty in the Storm

A storm in the desert land is a thing of beauty if one can forget one's fear of the storm. Earlier when the world began and man came to live in it, the manifestations of the weather were interpreted as the fearful wrath of the gods. Primitive man, when the clouds formed dark and threatening over him, fled to the sanctuary of his cave and there, in trembling and awe, waited until the storm passed. Unfortunate fellow! He did not have our knowledge of meteorology and his Antediluvian Gazette did not bring him each day the explanation of the cavorting of the weather gods by the weather man.

"Glad Tidings In a Thirsty Land" BY CHUCK ABBOTT

The fear of storms which possessed our primitive man is still with some of us today. In almost every family there is some timid one who flees to the comforting security of a dark clothes closet when the first sounds of thunder fill the air. It is a very real terror and one not to be taken lightly. In many ways we are closer to the first of men than we think.

Of the thousands of storms each day that batter this groggy old earth, none are as spectacular as those which come so rarely to the desert country. The very fact that we have so few storms is, perhaps, the reason they impress us so much. The rarified atmosphere, the bigness of the land and the sky above it, and the endless distances contribute to the beauty and the spectacular qualities of a desert storm. The land itself reflects every mood of sky; so when the sky changes the land changes, and therein is much of the beauty of the storm.

There are periods of inclement weather in the desert when the whole sky is dark and ominous, but these are uncommon. The truly beautiful desert storm skies are those which are only dark patches in the blue, thereby accentuating the blueness of the sky and and the intensity of the sun. When fingers of sunlight are streaks through them forming light patterns on the shadowed land, almost like silver threads tieing earth and sky together, the resultant spectacle of light and darkness is one of the supreme achievements of Nature. Such storms are itinerants, following the windways where ever they lead. They are never still. By their very mobility they appear to be alive, and that is another quality which adds to their charm.... R. C.

"Sky And Earth: An Immensity"