The Strangest Thing I Ever Saw -- Day One, Tornado Diary

[Gita]

A storm was building along the Locust Fork of the Warrior River where Mike and I lived on a small sheltered slough. 
Lightning whipcracked a pine tree not 40 yards from where I sat, setting it aflame. But the fire wasn't orange or red; it was green from the turpentine and sap and resins and bark and needles all catching at once.
Then the tree began to whistle as steam escaped from all the tiny holes made over the years by pine beetles and woodpeckers.  

The whistling changed into a jet engine roar at the instant the fire changed to orange and, with a mighty upward whoosh, consumed every last combustible molecule of pine.

Then, as suddenly as the lightning had come, the fire was gone and all that stood was a blackened lodgepole, slick with creosote.

[Jeanette Cheezum]

The techno color and audio rang clear in this story. Great 6

[Bill Floyd]

Happy 300.  This is a great way to celebrate.  Can't add much to what everyone else has said, except that I agree with them in terms of quality, maximum sensory impact, and the acuteness of your observational skills.  Interested in more of this diary.  

[Stephen Torelli]

What a vivid vignette! I imagined every detail like "lightning whipcracked a pine tree" and "the tree began to whistle."  Impressive writing, Gita!

[Gita]

This marks my 300th post on 6S.

[Bob Clay]

Reading Bill's comment I have to tell this Gita, and it's a true story.  About 20 years ago I worked for a while for BT putting in and repairing telephones, mostly out in rural Staffordshire (Deliverance Country).  I got called to a farmhouse with a lightning strike on the pole that had all but melted the telephone receiver.  The farmer led me to the blob of molten plastic still connected to a charcoal wire and asked me what I thought .... I replied 'I think it's fucked.'

[Toby Tucker Hecht]

Nothing more to add to what all the others have said.  This is authentically perfect.

[Gita]

The rest of the tornado diary is just as strange, though in different ways.

[Joey Delgado]

Read this and saw the tree catch fire and blaze in front of me. "Whipcracked" is a fantastic word and I love how you used it here. Also a big fan of the merging of nature, chemistry, and poetry in "consumed every last combustible molecule of pine."

[Angela]

So many have said so much.  I can imagine you looking at it all and being absolutely, truly awestruck.  Closest I ever came to this was a tall pine set ablaze by a house fire.  Burning wood does sing a special song.  Great job.

[Mike Handley]

Excellent rendering, G. Your keyboard is a wonderful palette.