Despite being a rainy day, I chanced being a crazy person who went for a nice, long walk through Les Sherman Park. Needless to say it was just me, the wet walking path, and the ducks. I returned home soaked through and through with wet wavy hair all over the place, but it was worth it. It reminded me of those things that I think of when it rains.
Like that time when I was just a kid that Grandpa and Grandma Gilmer had an auction at their log house out at Gooseberry Lake. How it rained all day and was so cool you could see your breath. I think we spent most of the day in the cabin drinking hot chocolate.
When I travelled to Europe in Grade 12, the experience was hampered by rain pretty much the whole time, whether we were in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland or France. I believe it was actually the last day we were there and flying out of Frankfurt that the sun finally made an appearance.
Rain reminds me of that time when I lived in Lethbridge and decided to drive out to BC to see my mom. As I was going through the Crowsnest Past, the rain was coming down so hard that my windshield wipers were having a hard time keeping up, and I was having a hard time being able to see my way through the twists and curves you encounter when you take that route. When it got to higher elevations, it started snowing (in June) and this poor guy coming towards me on his motorbike was having a tough time having to keep wiping the snow off his visor.
It makes me think of the year that my friends Barb and Patti and I decided to take in the Cathedral Arts Festival. It was pouring, so instead of chancing the rain, we made up our own little pub crawl through the afternoon. It was pretty much the last time that all three of us hung out together as everyone's lives went separate ways.
The rain takes me back to that July 1st Sandfly Festival in Medicine Hat when a then unknown Gord Bamford was on stage when the sky let loose and poured cats and dogs. With nowhere to really retreat, we just decided to make the most of it and danced like fools in the rain while he continued to play on. Within 20 minutes, the clouds parted again, the rain subsided and the sun returned for what turned out to be a beautiful rest of the day.
It takes me back to summers at the Craven Country Jamboree where a storm rolls in out of nowhere and suddenly it's coming straight down while everyone is trying to run for cover to the bathrooms or beer gardens. Mud becomes your best friend and the grandstand area becomes the Flip Flop Graveyard. Good luck trying to find a store that has rubber boots in stock still the week leading up to Craven.
The curse of rain follows me every time I go to Toronto. My first visit, it rained every day I was there. All I had for shoes was flip flops and let's just say my feet got a lot of exposure to the rain. My friend Krista brought me her husband's Maple Leafs umbrella. I had never used an umbrella before and ended up wrecking it when I was trying to close it. I felt pretty bad. A couple of months later I went back, this time in November. And again, it poured. I remember being with my friend Brianne in Kensington Market. We had been in this little coffee shop for a bit. When we came out, it was coming straight down so she ran across the street to this little Chinese place and got a cheap $5 umbrella. I think every time we've gotten together when I'm there, it's rained.
Overall, I don't mind the rain. Days on end of it back to back can get a little old real fast, but for the most part, a little time in the rain never hurt anyone did it? At least it's not snow :)
Tia
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