"Rain is Good"

Country folk often affix decals on their pick-up truck windshields. Some are obviously for business advertising purposes, but others are just for fun. For example, one flat-black beat-up pick-up truck that I often see around town proudly announces that "Ladies Love Country Boys". I've noticed various ones, such as "The General" and "Bad Group" (yes...), but the one I love the most is "Rain is Good!".

When I lived in the city, I reveled in a good hard rain. If I was at home, I'd hurriedly put on a raincoat and call my dog for a trip to the dog park. It meant that I'd finally have a moment alone outside of my apartment. It made the exhaust fumes and garbage smells disappear for a while. Torrential downpours made everything seem so "quiet", with the sound of the falling rain silencing all of that dreaded noise pollution. Suddenly, there would be just me and my thoughts, my poor wet dog, the feel of my rain boots sinking in the mud and the tapping of the raindrops on my head.

Most of the time however, the city rain will catch you on your way to a job interview dressed in your fanciest clothes, or happily enjoying a brew and burger on a pub terrace, or worse - painfully riding your bike home from the grocery store with way too many bags hanging on your handle bars. Then you've got to either run and hide and wait for it to be over or get absolutely drenched. Damn rain! It will be like a spoke in your wheel and wreak havoc with all your best-laid plans. Yes, it might be good for the garden, but you can also water it yourself with your garden hose - after all, it only takes a minute.

There are only a few good reasons to complain about the rain in the country:  when your baseball game gets canceled because of rain, your 150-year-old foundation is caving in, or there are holes in your ancient tin roof. Another good reason to complain is when it rains during the winter and the water has nowhere to go because the ground is frozen. Most of the complaining however, gets done when there is no rain. When we encounter a dry spell and are forced to perform rain dances in desperation. Aside from that, "Rain is Good!".

Rain gives us a bit of rest from the sweltering sun (believe it or not, the sun is stronger out here in the country). It replenishes and cleans our well water. It refreshes our lakes, rivers and ponds. It increases crop yields for farmers. It feeds our vegetable gardens. It reduces the risk of forest fires. It cleans off all that dust that accumulates on our trucks from driving on dry dirt roads. It makes our lawns green again. It cools down our panting chickens and amuses our ducks. It allows us to sing in the rain. It provides us with puddles to clean our bare feet before coming into the house. And it gives us a bit of time to update our blogs.

"RAIN IS GOOD!"