Telling on yourself, for instance, about flirting with bolts of lightning in a nasty summer storm.

That's the situation I put myself into last weekend while visiting relatives in Westmoreland County.

The weekend had started out so well, with former college roommates and their families joining us for several days of skiing, tubing and eating too much good food at a relative's place on the Potomac River at Sandy Point.

On the day that was punctuated by this very scary moment, we had decided to take a little trip upriver in two boats.

The plan: Look for shark's teeth at a familiar spot, anchor and have lunch and then stop in to visit some Fredericksburg friends on Nomini Creek.

Our carefree band of boaters had nearly met our first two objectives when we detected the deep sound of thunder just off to the north.

"No problem," I said, after a quick survey of the skyline. "It looks like it'll blow south of us."

Ten minutes later, the storm had filled the sky all around, sending us to seek shelter and safety at the cottage and dock of our friends with a home on the creek.

Making the dock just as torrents of rain fell and lightning flashed, it was good to have this port in the storm.

For more than an hour, we chatted with our friends, not really bothered by the storm that raged outside.

When the downpour entered its second hour, with no sign of letting up, we made plans to ferry most of our group home in cars.

The two exceptions were those driving the boats--my friend Tim and yours truly.

With a hint of an opening in the storm, a bright patch on the horizon, Tim proposed that we make a run for home.

Scared by the thunder still audible in the distance, but worried about my buddy going it alone, I suggested that we cruise out to the main body of the river to check conditions.