Rain or Shine

With all of the wet weather we have had, you just might be considering a trade in for a good canoe or flat bottom boat. It has been sometime since we have seen this many days of continuous rain and very rare for it to happen on such an important out-doors holiday as the 4th of July.

I cannot think of many holiday weekends that would be so hindered and affected by rain as much as the Fourth of July. It is the one holiday that is most associated with outdoor activities; cookouts, boating, sun tanning, baseball and the most important of all – Fireworks! As the fourth approached and it became ever so apparent that 100% chance of rain actually meant 100% chance of rain, it appeared that our hopes for fires works were to be totally dampened. But I guess the old saying, “the show must go on” rings true and come hell or high water, it was ”dam the torpedo’s full steam ahead”! I can think of nothing more “un-American” than having to sit in your car with the windshield wipers on full throttle, attempting to peer out of the car windows to watch a fire works display playing hide and seek in low cloud coverage. Of course I found myself, along with a few thousand other people, trying to do exactly that. I think next year, if rain is predicated, I will just watch fireworks on TV from a “dry” location and the comfort of my home.

Although the 4^th was a total wash, the reason for commemorating and celebrating was not. We should continue to hold our veterans in the highest esteem and honor those that have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. It is a day that is, by all accounts, “Totally American!”

As we floated into the weekend there were reports of the possibility of a rare sighting occurring, of something we had not seen in many days, the Sun. As luck would have it, those predictions were true even if it were ever so brief. The sighting gave hope that one day soon we may be resting on dry land and exclaiming the whoa’s of having to endure the rest of the summer with hot and humid days. I am going to keep my paddle close just in case.