Bundy's tree.

What a surprise!!! Out of nowhere comes a gulf tropical storm. Raining like hell and gusty winds. It's not a hurricane but may drop 3 - 5 inches of rain in this area. Looks like an inch has fallen in the last 10 minutes. Welcome Claudette.
I remember my first hurricane. I was 6 or 7 and lived just outside of New York city in a little railroad stop called Rosedale. No idea what the storm was called, or even if they named them in the late 1940's. It was dark and the power was out. Wind blowing like crazy and raining like mad.
My neighborhood was a great place to grow up. Lots of kids to play with, lots of trees to climb, lots of vacant lots to play in and the forbidden "pipeline" next to the railroad. Ah, the pipeline. It was a strip of land probably 100 feet wide and probably a utility right of way. We didn't know or care. It was a wild land with trees, humps of sand perfect for digging in, and lots of places where we could build a fort. But the best of all was it was forbidden. Too close to the tracks to be safe, so our parents told us. We went there to play anyway and once in awhile someone would call a mother and tell. Then we got called in and grounded for awhile. Or maybe got a "session" in the bathroom with a tired and overworked dad.
Anyway, on that windy rainy night we were all sitting around the tiny (I know now since I went back to see the house) living room with a candle or two waiting for something to happen. My brother and I wanted to perch by the window and look out to see what we could but my mother was worried about flying glass so tried to keep us away. I was looking out once and saw something big move and said "Their goes Bundy's tree". A very big poplar directly across the road from our house and in their front yard. Everybody looked out and saw nothing and figured I had made it up or saw something blowing around in the street.
The next morning when we got up there it was. Bundy's tree. Down across the road in the power lines. Got our fence but not the house. Vindicated!!!
The linemen got the wires cleared from the tree pretty early and all the kids in the neighborhood spent the rest of the day climbing sideways in the big tree. The weather was perfect as I now know post-hurricane weather usually is and we had a ball. The next day someone came and cut it up and hauled it away and life gradually returned to normal.
Other hurricanes since were fun or scary or dangerous, but none compare with the big one that blew down Bundy's tree.