It's been cloudy and rainy here in the PNW for several days now and I'm loving it. After spending 34 years in Denver's relentless sunshine, broken only briefly by heavy snows and wild hail-filled thunderstorms, I moved back to Oregon and Washington in search of regular clouds and rain. There's something about cloudy, wet skies that is soothing and calming for me; I told Colorado friends, as I was preparing to move, that I was going home to get re-hydrated. And that's what has happened. My soul, as well as my body, has been replenished by the rain and cooler temperatures.
I've never understood folks who want the weather to be different from what it is supposed to be, as it is shaped by the geography of the land, the hemisphere, the latitude and longitude, the waters nearby, the many factors that influence weather. Excluding, of course, the human-caused variations in weather.
Of course we appreciate the "blue holes" of unexpectedly clear weather during the rainy season of November through April. And we appreciate the "grey holes" of rainy weather during our clear, warm season. That's the way it's supposed to be, out here in the land of the Douglas fir and volcanic peaks. And you learn to appreciate it, if you're smart, not fight it.
Long ago, Governor Tom McCall of Oregon invited people to come visit but to go home again, not to stay. Slogans abounded: "Oregonians don't tan, they rust". We held Slug Festivals, to point out the sheer repulsiveness of the local banana slug. "Bumbershoot" is the name of a music festival in Seattle. And everyone carries around a bumbershoot in the back of their car, but we never use them. We make a big deal out of our rainy weather.
People move to the PNW and start complaining about the rain. Very tiresome, if you ask me. It's supposed to rain here. Go away if you don't like it. But the influx of people has only grown. And the sheer numbers of those who have moved in have caused our local highways and infrastructure to buckle under the strain of all those people.
Let me tell you, folks, the infrastructure is inadequate because we didn't expect you to stay! We thought you'd get tired of the rain and move away to some sunnier clime. But now that you're here, please quit griping about something you can't change and get busy helping to shore up the highways and viaducts that are falling apart from all the traffic. And if you can't do that, get out of our way.
1 comment:
Baahahaa! It's like th people who prattle on in Denver about how dry it is and how they have to ration water. If you don't like the lack of moisture, move or die of thirst. Otherwise, put on some hand cream and get back at it. And you're rationing water because, like Kit in the PNW, we didn't expect you to stay. Next folks to move here need to bring a bucket of water with them.
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