Braving the Downpour

As many of you may be aware, I am relocated to my hometown of South Bend, Indiana.  I've been here since the trip ran afoul, and I'm planning on staying.* South Bend seemed glad to have me back, as I was greeted with record rains that closed roads, destroyed yards, and left the entire westside under a boil order. That means that if I brush my teeth with the regular sink water, I may contract dyptheria.

* All I need is a job. And a place to live. And my car. And some clothes. Other than that, I'm home.

The rains were merely remnants of Hurricane Ike, the storm that tore through Galveston, demolished parts of Houston, and merely soaked the midwest. It's not nearly the first hurricane complication I've dealt with this year. When Fay rolled through Florida, winds in North Dakota escalated to 40 mph; right across my left side as I attempted to keep my bicycle from blowing off the side of a bridge. These are the things you never plan for.

I eavesdropped on a couple of older gentleman at a Starbucks, arguing about just how much rain we'd received over the weekend. The first man pointed out that his rain gauge showed 11 inches. The second man pointed out that his rain gauge showed 12.5 inches. Back and forth it went; each man trying to prove to the other that either he or his rain gauge was an incompetent fool.

I believe one of the men even had a rain gauge notebook - a tome that he had on his person and was able to produce during the conversation - which he had used to track rainfall since the late 90s.

See, I've never had that argument with one of my friends, namely because none of my friends are old enough to actually own a rain gauge.  See, a rain gauge isn't a thing a person buys to help him make a decision.  No one says, "I was going to see the new Will Ferrell movie, but my rain gauge showed 4 inches and I knew there was no way."  This is because the new Will Ferrell movies are horrible and no one ever wants to see them.

No, a rain gauge is purchased as a conversation piece.  Without rain gauges, the two old men would have been reduced to this conversation:

Old Man 1: It rained last night.

Old Man 2: Yes it did.

And that is why I don't own a rain gauge.  I hope my life is interesting enough to stand on its own without my needing to mention how many inches I got last night.