Friday, July 22, 2011

Dumb or Boundary Pushing?

As I left the building from a meeting mid afternoon today, a glance at the sky put my feet into high gear. Two blocks on foot to catch a bus and a white wall slowly moving my direction from the east. Could I out walk that column of rain (my running days are history) and stay dry? It was much cooler than when I left the house several hours earlier so a brisk walk would not only hopefully keep me ahead of the downpour but also warmer.

When I left the house mid morning I debated about wearing a jacket and taking an umbrella, but decided on neither. The sun felt warm enough without a jacket and the weather forecasters often predict bad weather to err on the side of caution and then have everyone singing their praises when the day turns out much better than foretold. I was banking on it today. Alas, I was wrong.

A few minutes later I ducked into the bus shelter as the heavy, bloated clouds began to leak in spits. The clouds were moving very slowly so I remained dry even after disembarking public transit to pick up mail and do some banking. However, before catching the next bus home, the heavens opened, or tore, or tipped or whatever they do in such circumstances and, well, I was grateful to be inside a building, warm and dry. Fortunately, there was a fast food establishment in this little business complex and, since I had not eaten lunch, I decided to wait out the drenching storm.

Lunch done, downpour still down pouring...what to do? I slipped into the next door grocery store, grabbed a coffee and a newspaper to relax in their cafe area. The usual 1/2 hour summer storm dragged on and on and on. Plan B = call my son to come get me.

Perhaps next time I'll take a jacket and umbrella, or, maybe not.  Boundary pushing is interesting, challenging, sometimes dangerous, sometimes a lot of fun, and sometimes just plain stupid. For now, I'm grateful my son was available to help out in my time of need.