Last night we had one of those storms that are part of Kansas lore (think “Wizard of Oz”). I’ve already described it and I’m confident you’ve memorized each and every word of my previous entries!

This morning my wandering mind took me to the Land of Coincidinks (coincidences for you regular folk). I’ve heard that events in life happen in 3’s and this was my 3rd hailstorm in 3 weeks. The first 2 brought such joyful memories and this one came after we laid my dear friend, Richard Stern, to rest.

Richard’s funeral was beautiful and we shared the joy, the gentleness, the bigness, the creativity, the music and photography that was Richard. Right before the Rabbi began the service, we listened to the song, “Here comes the sun”, a joyful reminder to celebrate Richard, to treasure our times together and our memories, and a request to fully live our lives after a “long, cold lonely winter.”

Last night when the storm began, I was grateful that the rains had waited until after the funeral and burial. I didn’t revel in the storm last night—it was something to endure, to get through, and hope that no electrical surge would fry my computer. I was very tired last night—very, very tired—and fell asleep as the storm raged on.

This morning I turned on my TV and searched for the Today Show. I love the times Matt Lauer globe-trots around the world and today was the last of the 2008 5-day series. Much to my dismay, the Today Show had been supplanted by local coverage of last night’s storm. I was shocked to see that 7 tornadoes had touched down in our region and, while no deaths have been reported, storm damage was severe. Closed to feeling and being totally self-absorbed, I channel-surfed, unable to find anything I wanted to watch. Although I’ve lately become a fan of watching the talking heads shout their political views, even that couldn’t soothe me this morning. That damn storm…

The light crept in through my shutters and began to reach my soul. I am truly saddened by what occurred to the homes north of here. I couldn’t imagine how to or where to begin sifting through the mess and moving on…just like I feel about the grieving process with Richard. “Where’s the positive in this hail, God? Were the storms raging Mother Nature’s tears?”

OR—perhaps, “How loving You are to give Richard an opportunity to experience the majesty of nature…from a new and sacred view…and this time his photographic eye is all he needs.”