It was a bright, warm, sunny day — most of the day. In the morning I went to the office and talked with Roka. There was no flooding in the basement from the thunder, lightning and rain early that morning. In the afternoon I went downtown for a committee meeting, then to campus.

In the early evening I returned to my house and started getting ready for my upcoming soccer match. It began to rain.

Nino, Jeff, and Josh picked me up and we were off to the match.

The rain was light while I changed and we warmed up. As kickoff time approached a warm, strong breeze picked up and started blowing dark clouds overhead. Rain started slanting down at us. It grew to sleet and heavier rain, always moving and blowing.

We continued setting up the nets and flags, running and stretching, and passing and dribbling. At times it subsided, but when the referee walked out under a large black umbrella, the rain was falling hard and blowing about. Lightning strikes and flashes got closer and more frequent.

Some headed back to their cars, others went to shelter by the nearby school building, Steve, John and I and a few others held out hope and continued to kick around, knowing that we could get no more wet than we were.

The rain got even harder and we started packing up. Marty’s friend was holding on to an umbrella in the wind. As it gusted more, I said, “Watch your umbrella,” just before it blew inside out. I stepped over and grabbed the handle from her before it blew away. I turned it into the wind and collapsed it to prevent it from being damaged.

We were all soaked.

When we got back on my street the rain had stopped. The storm had lasted only an hour, but at the worst time for our match. If it had started and finished half an hour earlier we would have played.

The wind had blown large branches down onto the street in front of my two-down neighbour’s house. I ran to my house and dropped my stuff off and came out. A guy had parked his car under the tree but it escaped damage because the broken braches extended over the street and fell far from the tree trunk beside which he was parked.

I pulled the branches to the opposite curb to make more room for cars to pass before the debris was cleared.

I cleaned up and went down to Josh’s. Josh, Taylor and I went out to relax, indoors.