Rainy Day, Rainy Night

Late night/early morning. Listening/watching Gnarls Barkley on Austin City Limits.

It rained Tuesday/Tuesday night. It rained Wednesday/Wednesday night. It rained Thursday. The rain hasn’t been continuous but it’s been often and at times heavy. The remnant of tropical storm Lee is heading north through Virginia on its way to flood Pennsylvania.

We’ve had severe electrical storms. Electricity, out for over a day after Irene, has flickered several times, setting the digital clocks in the house to blinking.

I once knew a bartender named Darlene. She told me one of her favorite things was rainy days. I can understand. When I have nowhere to go, sunny days make me feel guilty; I should be outside instead of being in the house. Rain gives me a reason to be indoors guilt-free.

At the time I knew Darlene, I wasn’t “into” rainy days. Thunderstorms were my thing. I had a reason. When I was a child, my mother – never close, emotionally or otherwise – was frightened of thunderstorms. When there was a thunderstorm, she would call my brother and I into her room and the three of us would get on her bed together for the duration. Thunderstorms brought us closer, and I loved that. As an adult, thunderstorms brought back those warm feelings.

I no longer enjoy thunderstorms so much. As some would put it, “The novelty has worn off.” Lightning hit power lines near my house and burned out my garage door opener. The system is old and repair parts are not available. Lightning flipped the circuit breaker to my electric stove. Lightning can do a world of damage or just mess with you, at its own choosing.

Like Darlene, I prefer rain now.