Day 177-- walking in rain
Thursday, March 01, 2007
I paced a lot at work tonight--to the door, back behind the counter, back to the door. I looked out, at the street. At the rain.
The street was wet when I checked around 6 p.m.; I could tell by the way the glow from the streetlights careened off of the surface, like a flashlight played upon an upended can of oil. The customers trickled in the rest of the night, most shaking water from umbrellas, shoulders, hoods.
We finished cleaning in record time. By the time I descended the stairs to the sidewalk, I realized I had left my hat dangling on the shop's coat rack, and my umbrella rested near the door of my house. I shrugged, started walking and thumbed my headphones into my ears. Rain pattered on my shoulders; I questioned the wisdom of my nightly walk, but turned right before any more doubt poisoned the well.
I walked longer--farther, more casually--than usual. Think of it this way: it's a short walk from the coffee shop to my house, and I normally make a rectangle of sorts on College Hill on the way home. Tonight, I made the rectangle lines a tad longer.
The walk was wonderful. I dodged puddles, leapt over cracks. I often avoid going out at night when it's raining--I have astigmatism in an eye--but this time the lamps on street, on porches were beautiful lighthouses bathing the sidewalk for my sake. The doors to a local church were crouched beneath one said light, the red paint emanating warmth over the block of asphalt ocean. My shoes are wet, leather moist, tips of my socks guarding toes to the last. I pray jovially; I smile and thank God for rain, for shelter, for music, for little things as they come to me. I crest the hill on the street adjacent to the Young apartments, the pins of water arcing into the haze over Reeves Stadium. The soundtrack is apt, in stereo--piano, acoustic guitar and bass in my right ear, electric guitar and organ in the right, drums and vocals multitracked. The electric guitar wanders around, like water lazily sifting through sand to meet the late autumn Atlantic. Like walking in the rain at night.
posted, with grace and poise, by Jason @ 3/01/2007 11:10:00 PM,
5 Comments:
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At 12:26 AM,
Jason said...
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There is at least one comma that feels horribly out of place--see if you can find it!
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At 12:32 AM,
joeldaniel said...
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so i blogged about rain today too...
what is it about rain that's so bloggable? -
At 1:43 AM,
Janell said...
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I say, don't let the commas give you pause, let them fall where they may.
And forgive the pun, sometimes they fall where they may as well. -
At 8:49 AM,
RVWarren said...
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You know, you could have come up and gotten your hat...you have a key to the shop...
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At 3:35 PM,
RVWarren said...
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On another note, the meteorological phenomenon that I love to be apart of is wind. Especially when down on the ground there is a delay between when the treetops shake violently and the gust hits you. Usually a 5-7 second delay. I never have fully understood why it happens...maybe that's why I love it so much.
"Praise ignorance. For what man has not encountered he has not destroyed."--Wendell Berry
