It didn't stick around the neighborhood for long, but I saw the fading flashes and heard the diminishing roar as it moved into the valley. For several hours, there were periodic storm warning messages on the television. I didn't want to turn the computer back on, for fear of power outages and their accompanying surges, which in these parts are not uncommon results of electrical storms even several miles distant. By the time the storm had vanished altogether, I'd gotten hung up watching a cheesy 1970s vintage mystery movie, and by the time that ended, most of the night had gone. Ah, the wasted time.
So now I'm hearing the morning birds again, and the cat is mewing at me with displeasure. She spent most of the night in my room, first out of fear of the thunder, and then out of fear of the nephew who is sleeping in the den. She is one unhappy kitty. So, I got to see a very enjoyable storm for a while, but I wasted a lot of time and I have an unhappy cat. That adds up to a slightly negative score for the night. It sure smells nice this morning, though. Mmmm, lingering thunderstorm breath!