What a capricious character, the wind. We depend on it for pollination, sustaining rain, and a million other things. Yet the tragedy in Oklahoma reminds us that it’s like most things: in excess, devilish.

While I’ve fortunately never experienced a tornado or hurricane, I’ve had some odd experiences in Poland with the wind, specifically the halny wind of southern Poland. A foehn wind, the halny is legendary for its effects on behavior. Depression sets in and there’s supposedly a noticeable increase in the suicide rate.

My own experience wasn’t nearly so traumatic, but it did lead to the absolute worse bout of insomnia I’ve ever suffered. For about four nights, I found it almost impossible to sleep. Nothing helped. Every morning was a trial, and every afternoon I was convinced that I would finally fall fast asleep that evening, but I lay awake night after night, feeling ever more powerless and waking with a worse headache than the day before.

In that sense, I’m blessed: the worst wind has ever done to me is keep me up almost all night. Nothing like this song, or the tragedy in Oklahoma. Blessed or lucky. Or both.