Rainy Days

When I was a kid, I used to love the rain.

At school, it meant indoor activities. Sometimes we wouldn't do ANY work and would just talk or play little games.

I remember even playing indoor spelling baseball. The teacher would give us a choice of difficulty level (1, 2, 3 or 4) and we would have a time limit to correctly spell a word on the chalkboard. If we got it right, we would go to another corner of the room depending on the difficulty of the word. If we made it home, we could pick a prize out of the "prize box."

The darkness outside would make the classroom environment exciting. Riding the bus as it blew through puddles and soaked the pedestrians was a great way to end a fantastic school day.

At home I would make origami boats and float them down the gutter until they got stuck under the tire of a curbed vehicle (most likely driven by someone's wife ;) or I would just sit in the kitchen watching the water pile up and splash in the corner of our backyard walkway.

I remember my mother's answer to my question regarding the origin of rain. She told me that it was God's tears. Even at this young age, that answer seemed highly unlikely and illogical. It only served to confuse me and I believe eventually played a significant part in the process that led me into the atheist life I would eventually come to lead in my teenage years.

The idea of a crying God devastated me. I locked myself in the bathroom, stood on the toilet and stared out the window. This was my safe place. Our bathroom window faced a wall and you could barely see the house next door. I like this window during rainy days because you could stare out of it looking up at the sky, protected from the raindrops by the screen. You could "smell" the rain. I distinctly remember the scent being a combination of grass and metal screen. I'm sure I ended up with a dirty nose more often than I can remember.

Now an adult, as a homeowner, commuter and family leader, my simple joys have been eradicated.

I still like the rain. I still like the smell as long as you aren't anywhere near garbage or pavement but I worry.

I worry about the roof on my home. Water erodes roof tile.
I worry about the flooded roads and hydroplaning. Water hates cars.
I worry about the driving skill of all those people in SUV's that pretend they can handle like sports cars. Humans think water is weak.
I worry about my dog. He doesn't really know how to take care of himself in the rain. Water likes plants, sill dogs, not so much.
I worry about my wife. She drives really well and very careful, but the people that work near her do not. Neither do the engineers behind the crash-happy Metro link trains that pass right by her work everyday.
I worry about my brother-in-law that has to ride the bus and walk for two hours every day. Water hates students.
I worry about those fancy houses on the hills. Their million dollar losses will mean increased fees for the rest of us taxpayers.

I worry about global warming. Who's igloo is this raining on me today? We must hate water to do this to the Earth.