The night sky was un earthly;
 towering clouds black and red with
massive electrical storms danced cock-eyed in the distance.
Above us only stars and a blood red  moon to the East that waned putrid
in sultry southern humidity;
 Gods from the West hurled their furious bolts of forked lighting
in sheeted arcs that battled  back and forth  over the skys of  the
Mississippi Delta;.
in bone bleached  flashes of light casting  dread into the eyes of  man and
beast.

I held  little Marys  hand in silence as we watched the awesome display from
the tranquility of the catfish pond and our old jeep.
Fish nibbled the ponds surface as lunar moths dove into  the shimmery
reflections  made by the  headlamps  that  drifted dreamily through   the
steamy body of water..
.Their suicidal dives a foretaste of  dangerous attraction that afflicts us
all.. . .
Old or young ;  this was primeval .
It has awakened some distant memory of our origin, tranquility and storm in
tempest.
We cut the lights; and watch the armed  struggle  illumine  the entire
horizon;
it  crackles the background of a radio Gospel hour making it whirr; and
sputter into  eerie  sing song of some long ago  time.

The storm was now  making its approach to us from hundreds of miles away;
We held tight .
In time  pillars  of black clouds took the sky above; creeping in high
cascades   and stealing  stars; setting the crickets silent, while unleashing
hot winds  that rustle and gush sudden   through  live oak and  scented
magnolia.

It was time to head for the barn.

The starter motor spun , then caught the engine into a purr.  The short block
eased forward in gear  upon release of the clutch; and
We took off  in steady roll across the pastures as the clouds thickened and
lowered sickly menace.

Usually out here I let Mary drive  because there is little trouble she can
get into .
Not tonight; big storm coming ; time to get home and  put it to bed.

Just as we entered the screen door there was a crash of lighting that rattled
the dishware ;
I stood mesmerized as Mary scampered within
as the sky opened in a pelting black rain
In seconds there was another crash
only this time it was the bathroom door
Fearing the worst ; I made right for it ;
by the time I got there  Mary had dropped her diaper and had positioned
herself well up on the throne ;
Then with the rain drumming our tin roof ; and smiles all around  ;Little
Mary;   executed her first  pee; by herself
to the applause of the dog and her amazed and  grateful parents whose  .
 prayers for this day have been answered.

Hoo- ray  there is a God

Michael Davidson

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