3203. Lightning never strikes twice © Bruce Goodman 12 May 2025

Cinders knew that the phrase “lightning never strikes the same place twice” was a load of codswallop. She had read where the Empire State building in New York would be hit up to twenty-five times in a year. Twenty-five times is more than once. When the beautiful cedar in her front yard was hit by lightning and became a burnt-out skeletal mess Cinders refused to plant another. That original tree had been planted by her great-grandmother many years before. It was a family heirloom. The tree should have lasted hundreds of years. And now the remaining cindered bits had to be chopped up professionally and taken away. “I’m not planting another tree here to replace granny’s cedar,” said Cinders to her cousin, showing him where the tree had been. “If lightning can strike once it can always strike agai …” Contact Author Back to Index Next Story Previous Story