A tourist driving through drought stricken Vermont asked a farmer, "Think it'll rain ?" The laconic old man mused that, "Always has!" Anyone asked that question around here would likely retort "Think it'll stop ?" Songs high on the local charts include "Rain, rain, go away" and "Raindrops keep falling on my head . . ."
Yesterday a local meteorologist reminded listeners that 2020 had been the wettest year on record and that 2021 was maintaining the trend. Mark Twain receives credit for the observation that "Everyone talks about the weather but no one does anything about it".
"If you don't like the weather now, wait five minutes and it will change", a familiar cliche, has lost its humorous ring. Just a few miles to our north, residents this week-end are contending with ice, snow, power outages, slippery streets and roads. 'February-itis' it is sometimes named . . . the combination of wet, cold, steel-grey days that turn hearts and minds towards Spring.
Forgotten at the moment are the torrid days of July and August when vegetation and heat-exhausted farmers yearn for an end to the drought.
Some find the monsoon season to be a kind of metaphor for the seeming deluge of stormy events in the world at large . . . Covid, political wrangling, climate changing, on the list goes . . . that weigh heavily on the soul and psyche.
Remember the 1981song, I Love a Rainy Night ?
Probably not a request for it to be played just now.
Without minimizing the toll that recent events have exacted, how to keep the gloom at bay? Where and how does one find the precious perspective of HOPE ? Somewhere in the recesses of my memory of French lessons is the word for "Raincoat" ; it is
Impermeable. Making our spirits and well-being impermeable to the rain, literal and metaphorical, will require constant attention to Resources that provide nurture. . . music, prayers, art, movies, making things, finding ways to connect with friends and family when visits are limited.
Maybe Annie knew an important secret when she sang Tomorrow. We are often reminded that it is darkest just before sunrise.
Satchel
Timely
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