It's Raining!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at 11:47AM And lest you doubt, that's news in South Carolina! We're behind rain-wise. I love rain! I hope it rains for the rest of the day and tonight too. And tomorrow.
That reminds me of something. I don't like Halloween and do not "celebrate" it in any way, but when I was growing up, my sister and I always made it a point to dress up and go trick-or-treating. The only stake I had in it was the candy, because anyone who knows me knows that I have a sweet tooth the size of that island Johnny owns.
I remember only one Halloween from my childhood, and that is 1969, the year I was 12. Getting a little old for trick-or-treating, some might say, but I was small and figured I could get away with it.
We lived in Oakland Park, Florida, and I don't know why I remember this particular Halloween so vividly except I think maybe it was the rain and its corollary, i.e. intense disappointment. My sister and I had planned our costumes carefully. I have no idea what she was going to "go as," but I know that I was a pirate.
I can't imagine what gave me that idea (perhaps an old black and white Errol Flynn movie on TV), but I think it's so funny now, considering ... nevertheless I recall that my (completely original and self-designed) costume involved a short black skirt, a red-and-white striped shirt, and some kind of sash. I think I had boots (probably from the Goodwill), and no doubt some sort of sword, and maybe even a hat.
Jenny the Pirate.
But October 31, 1969 dawned gray and rainy (although very warm) in Oakland Park, Florida. Mama said no way could we go trick-or-treating if the rain didn't stop. I would have gone even if I had to put together a pirate ship and navigate the streets of Oakland Park all by me onesie. Candy was that vital to me.
But we are not talking ordinary rain that fell on OP that day ... it was torrential! I actually checked the historical weather data (it's easy to do, thanks to our friend the Internet) and confirmed that the high temperature in Broward County, Florida, on Halloween 1969 was 74, and 10 inches of rain fell!
My baby brother would be born only 25 days later, but in my mind's eye I do not see my largely expectant mother at all. I only remember dressing as a pirate, craving a decent haul of candy, the rain, and the disappointment. I consulted a perpetual calendar (the Internet truly is amazing) and learned that it was a Friday.
I'm sure I was miserable at school that day, knowing that if the rain didn't stop, I was not going anywhere that night. I kept a weather eye on the horizon all day, as pirates are wont to do, and although the weatherman promised no immediate change in the forecast, I came home from school and got all dressed up.
I should have chosen as my costume "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial" ... it would have been more appropriate. I can still see my skinny sad self standing at the door of our screen porch in front, watching that rain just sluice down and wash away all my dreams of a sackful of candy.
Good thing life itself is so sweet.
Reader Comments (2)
I lived in Columbia from 2004-2006. You may have seen me protesting against the hippies downtown every Wednesday.
Another Squarespacer! I keep bugging them to make a 3 columned layout but they won't.
Johnny Depp is one sexy hunk but I can't stand his politics. He's sure nice on the eyes, though.
Politics is the last thing on my mind when I look at Johnny Depp! LOL! But I know what you mean, Amy! I agree with you with regard to everything conservative. I love your site and look at it every day ... and so does my husband since I raised his consciousness to it!
Yeah ... squarespace ... what are you gonna do?
Thanks for reading!