Rain

It’s been dry as of late. The corn has curled and the grass has browned from being baked too long, although today the skies hint of rain. If it does rain I am to rush outside to gather laundry. I dislike those kinds of tasks, as it becomes so easy to forget under what conditions a response is required: If A, then B. So really the task becomes a flow chart with not only one thing to remember, but two or more.

Plus, I have questions. Does a light sprinkle qualify? How about a passing shower or even that beautiful anomaly, the sun shower? 

And that was only part of the instructions left by the lady of the house as she went to town to run some errands.  I prefer she not write the list down, as I want to keep my memory sharp. There was one other thing she wanted me to do and it will be revealed as this writing exercise continues or if it rains. I, of course, have my own list I should attend to.   

I have an old truck that should be prepped to sell.  Although I am not entirely sure I want to sell it. “Pipes” has been a favorite truck of our family, so named because of the dual exhaust which produces a low rumble. All four of us enjoyed driving it, and it was put it in the ditch at one time or another by at least three of us.  The fourth one isn’t saying. 

If I get Pipes out of the barn I can move my brother, Dan’s, VW Bug into the next stage of restoration: more serious consideration. I bought and paid for it, but it will always be Dan’s VW.

Of course, not being mechanically inclined presents certain obstacles. When you are not inclined, well, you are not inclined to do certain things as some activities are favored over others, and the bug just hasn’t hit me yet. 

I would have got an earlier start to my list checking, but I spent a couple hours at the Renaissance Festival with my son, Nathan. Living so close to the grounds gives me the opportunity to pop in for a quick visit about every third or fourth year.  

This time I noticed it has become difficult to tell the players from the visitors, as the period clothing is worn by both sides of the ticket.  Even though my wardrobe has articles from two different centuries, I was immediately recognized as an outsider. This of course, brought on invitations to touch a parrot (a poor model of the winged creature presented as a stuffed animal perched on a shoulder), play chess or buy some orchards for a deer lady. Did she mean a doe or did I hear her wrong?

Another thing I noticed is that most everyone from that period of time was neither shy nor modest; plus they had the same flair for the dramatic. In addition to the numerous scheduled stage shows there were wandering jesters, jugglers tossed about the grounds and side shows on both sides of the wood chip lane. Indeed the world, or at least those acres, is a stage and everyone plays.  

I left feeling fortunate to live during this modern age and to be less than a day’s ride from the festival. I shudder to think what it would be like to be without indoor plumbing and prescription lenses.  

There it is – shudder/shutter. I was supposed to take down the shutters for painting if it didn’t rain.  But now it’s raining; time to bring in the laundry.