If you doubt the veracity of this account talk to Sharon, for she is our witness. There were four of us on that fateful afternoon, jogging across the shallow end of the pool, when a rogue gust of wind touched down and became a water spout. I know that it’s quite extraordinary, that Mr. Bill was not the catalyst of this peculiar event; after all, he is a bonafide cyclone magnet, but life is full of strange surprises. ( If you are not familiar with Mr. Bill’s unusual super powers, may I refer you to: Between Cyclones– July 2017, Bomb Cyclones -January 2018, Water Blog-February 2018, Change in the Weather-August 2019 and Mother Nature Weeps -November 2019. Prepare to be amazed.)

It was a picture perfect day in South Florida when out of the blue, strange bursts of wind, disturbed an otherwise calm spring day. Sharon, Mary Ann and I, along with our instructor Christina, were in the pool at The Preserve at Ironhorse, doing our warm-up exercises for the water aerobics class. Suddenly the equipment cart began rolling back and forth across the pool deck, like a ship tossed upon the sea. Although that seemed odd, we continued hopping and bopping about to the music. Sharon, who was running west to east, saw bright green balls caught by the wind, fly over the high fence of the adjacent tennis courts, sail across the sidewalk and drop into the pool. With a loud whoosh, another gust of wind took aim for the pool. Smack! The wind made contact and water was pulled up into a six foot spinning spiral and spun across the pool. Sharon was astonished to see MaryAnn and I inside a mini waterspout and we had no idea what had hit us, when we were slapped with a wall of water. We were drenched! Water raked across us counterclockwise, our sun hats were snatched from our heads and flung in opposite directions. The wind had come from behind, slammed into us and continued on, forming horizontal furrows, not waves, as it pushed the water to the edge of the pool. Back on land, the wind transformed itself back into a mini twister and pushed on toward the 18th green, after first scattering the furniture on the clubhouse deck along the way. We looked at one another in amazement. What had just happened? If not for Sharon, we would never have known what had struck us. To me, the quick soaking felt like the stinging spray from a slalom water skier, coming in hot and bent on a bit of mischief, which was a prank, that never got old for me and my summer pals. For a brief moment, I felt young again.

But what of Mr. Bill? Where was he during all this wet drama? Why he was nearby on the course, playing a round of golf. His status, therefore, is unchanged. Rest assured, Mr. Bill has not lost his ability to attract wind and water. Either he has become better at evading Mother Nature’s soggy embrace these days or she is growing weary of the chase. One thing is certain in their game of Hide and Seek, he’s winning! And everybody loves a winner.