Most people think that thunder, lightning, and hail signify a "storm." To us Okies, those things signify "sleeping weather."

Want to know where someone is from? Don't waste your time trying to figure it out by their accent. Instead, play a CD of thunder crashes, rain that sounds like machine-gun fire, and winds of such gale force that the speakers of the CD player start to visibly vibrate. If this cacophony of noise causes the person's eyelids to start drooping, then it's a safe bet that he or she is from the Midwest.

Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, the rain started hitting my window, sounding like the stacatto of a snare drum. The thunder chimed in with a big bass beat. The wind started to howl with the intensity of a thousand violins playing disparate notes. And the tornado sirens only added to the symphony.

I slept like a log.

Edit at 6:44 P.M. Ummm, right after I posted this latest entry, Mother Nature decided to slap my flippant face. The tornado sirens went off (no symphony this time) and I turned on the TV to see that a tornado touched down just west of Oklahoma City and was headed our way. At this time, an F3 (the ratings given to the strength of tornados...highest is an F6, which ripped through here May 3rd), has ripped through south Oklahoma City and is still headed northeast. The TV is showing a lot of damage and, because of the time it hit, a lot of cars were on the highway and in its path. Here in the north part of the city, where I live, not much damage except from some hail. Well, I guess I was shown a lesson, huh?