RAINY DAYS AND MONDAY

You remember the old song sang in the early 70’s by the Carpenters? It is May 10^th as I write this and about 5:55 am. The rain has been falling steady for a few days with no relief in sight. It brings to mind so many things that I associate with rainy days. My mom left to have a baby on a rainy day in December many years ago for instance. Me, I always love rainy days.

The rain first off is good for the environment as you all know, but to me it is a sense of appreciation of all there is in life. One of my favorite memories is when I was a young kid on rainy Saturday mornings. I would put on channel 9, (There was no cable in those days) and there was on my black and white TV the Million Dollar Movie with the score from Gone With The Wind. They would present a movie from the 30’s or 40’s. In it I learned about bad acting and great musicals, comedies that were really lame by today’s standards, but entertaining to me none-the-less. All the actors that Dad would mention: would suddenly appear in the movie, and what they looked like for the first time to me did not match my imagination.

Rain is a welcomed relief in the heat psychologically, fooling me into thinking that during a hot and humid day there is relief in the rain. Never happens.

The sound of raindrops on the roof seems to motivate me to come up with a new idea, for a dish, a blog or piece of art, and always stimulates conversation with TLW (The Little Woman).

But when it is raining and I’m home alone, I close all the lights and get in my recliner and close my eyes and listen. Soon I am running through days gone by, people I haven’t thought of in years, and what I want for dinner.

What I want for dinner?

Of course it wasn’t always like that. When I worked and took the LIRR everyday, rainy Mondays were always dreadful. Standing on a station platform in a raincoat waiting for a train to arrive, people trying to keep dry, getting on a train in wet clothes, walking down the canyons of the Big Apple, head down the wet wind pressing you and retarding your progress, and finally reaching your office, trying to find the strength to say: “Good morning!”

But getting back to the fond memories, as a young father, I recall those wet grey Saturdays with my kids. #1 Son had this Nerf basketball set, and we would play for hours, my son doing everything he could to keep me out of my wife’s hair.

So today I will look forward to another rainy day, read a book, come up with an idea, or just lean back in my chair and close my eyes. It’s good to be retired, it’s good to be the king!