Summer Rain

Any one who says that sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.
                                             --Unknown


A wonderful thing happened last night. It rained.

Weather is often thought to be the most shallow of all conversation topics, and rain is often considered to be among the most miserable of weather conditions. Neither of these assumptions is true.

The most shallow conversation topic is gossip of the uncharitable variety, and the most miserable of weather conditions is 115 degrees Farenheit combined with 80% humidity and a most severe lack of wind, which miserable condition has haunted the Columbia area for about two weeks. The blessed rain has returned beautiful cool weather to us. For someone who must drive to work a half hour every day in a car with weak air conditioning, last night's refreshing deluge strongly recommends itself as one of the loveliest weather conditions known to humanity.

And the latest gossip (of the non-uncharitable variety) is that the little brown bird now sings alone, her tree-mates having both moved out these eight weeks, one of them married and the other planning a wedding for summer's end. And so it is that even little birds change, like the trees, with the seasons.