If you live in a sunny climate, you welcome a little rain every so often. Living in the Pacific Northwest is a different story. It rains all the time. A lot. I mean really a lot. Get used to it or go crazy. Although I have lived here for almost 40 years, when the rainy season starts, there is a tendency to question one’s sanity. Why don’t I move? Somewhere, anywhere, just get me out of this cold, wet, depressing rain. At least if it was colder we would be getting snow. Now that is a treat, in moderation anyway. Relentless, steady rain will get the better of even the most loyal Oregonian. Please make it stop, if only long enough to get to my car unscathed. When you walk ten feet and get soaked, you know it is really coming down. Thank you rain, for making everything green and pretty, but enough already.
It is a fact that a true Northwest native will never carry an umbrella. Hats, hoods, or Gore-Tex jackets are the only acceptable options. If an outdoor activity is scheduled, and it happens to be raining that day, the event will go on. Baseball games, picnics, tennis matches and the annual Rose Festival in June, will all be enjoyed with a pride that is a Northwest trait. Yup! Everybody who lives here is crazy.
There is, I have noticed, one very good thing about all the crappy weather; people like to get out of their abodes and go to their favorite ‘snug harbor’ to feel safe from the elements. The bar business literally explodes. This is fine with me, as bars are where I spend most of my time anyway. Now I don’t have to feel guilty that I’m not out frolicking in the sun! Nature walks, rafting, hiking, yeah right! I am just like everyone else now, sticking around for another drink because I don’t want to get wet.
Hey! I just figured out why I enjoy the Pacific Northwest so much. Guilt free drinking during our nine month winter. Sweet!
“If you tell people you’ve been drinking all day, you have to start in the morning,” by unknown
Don Van Kirk 