Fun is where you find it.

So I made a bit of a miscalculation today. Yesterday was hot and steamy so I went to Dominicks and then came home to stay. That meant I still had to get to the hardware store for garbage stickers, Whole Foods for fruits and vegetables and Target for some great specials on a few items I needed.

We were supposed to get rain last night but more today. I checked the radar, calculated my driving and what I needed and figured I'd be home just about the time the rains were slated to fall. The NWS radar does not take into account the guy at the hardware store who had never done a special order; the gal in the meat department at Whole Foods who seemed to think I was invisible and helped 2 people before me even when I said, "Excuse me. I am next."; or the gal in Target who had to have everything totaled separately so she could see the running total on her Target card.

I was standing in the Target line when I heard a rumble. "Is that thunder?" I asked, already knowing the answer. The woman behind me said, "It's probably pouring by now." "Oh great, I have the windows off the Jeep." I did. I had run around yesterday topless but with the threat of rain, I put up the top last night. This morning, I took off the front windows. Of course it's going to rain.

I walked to the front doors and it was sideways.

I stood there for a minute in the vestibule wondering if I should wait it out. I could see the top of the Jeep and the rain was coming from the northwest, which meant the passenger side was getting wet. I decided, meh, and pushed my cart into the teeth of the rain. It was raining so hard, it was gray.

Once everything was packed into the Jeep, the next question arose. The wipers don't work. Do I attempt a drive home in this, just counting on Rain-X to help me see? I sat in the Jeep for a few minutes and decided, "Sure." I know the way home intimately. I have 2 stop lights to get through and the rest is residential driving. I can go slow to see any parked cars. (This vexes me: Illinois law states you must have your lights on when your wipers are in operation. Hello? Yes, I'm talking to the drivers of the minivans I passed. ARG!)

The effect of Rain-X finally wore off about 8 blocks from home. It was still raining heavily and the driver's side was getting as wet as the passenger's side. There were massive puddles by quickly overloaded storm drains. Of course I drove through them as fast as I could. You have not lived if you have not driven your Jeep through water to make a spray. Yes, had you been in the passenger seat, you would have gotten more wet. I unloaded the car in the driving rain, put on the windows and stood, dripping in the kitchen while the cats just looked at me. They don't like thunderstorms and were quite worried, comforted only by my presence, wet as it was, in the kitchen. They are currently in the office with me.

That was raw fun. It was a wonderfully warm rain. If I'd had working wipers, I would have driven faster through the puddles but I couldn't see clearly after the second one, so I had to slow down. Whole Food's paper bags disintegrate very nicely upon getting wet. I took a bag but bought more fruit and veggies by volume than the bag could hold. I stood in my living room before leaving thinking, "Should I take another bag? Nah. I'm not getting that much." They made it to the kitchen but fell apart as I set them down with my apples and potatoes rolling all over the floor.

What a great way to kick off the summer season.

Beverage: Dr Pepper

Deb