Why A Little Rain Didn't Stop Me from Walking Today at Charlie Cabler Park

Overcast Seattle

The rumor is simply untrue.  It DOESN'T rain every day in Seattle, my home town.

It rains, on average, 155 days per year, about 3 days a week for an average of about 5.3 hours.

Editor of Brownsville Observer

The above meteorology made it puzzling when Mr. Blanchard, a transplant from California, built a new home a few blocks away from our house, installing a watering system under his lawn. We rode over on bicycles to see what he was doing.  I was the designated questioner of the group.

"Mr. Blanchard, why are you putting a watering system in your yard when it rains every week?" I asked.

Blanchard just laughed:  "Oh, you never know!"

Rain seldom interfered with much.  During recess, you learned to dribble around the puddles on the outdoor basketball court.  Light rain didn't prevent baseball or tetherball, but it did mess up the game of marbles.  I kept a shooter in my pocket in case the sun came out.

Creek Behind Our House in King County

During Junior High, we had this creek behind our house in Covington.  Yes, it looks deceptively docile, but in the spring it swelled into a raging river with snow melt from Mt. Rainier.  In the fall, Pacific salmon, returned to spawn in their place of birth, after four years at sea, almost overloading the small waterway.

On clear days, Mt. Rainier was always reassuringly visible, reinforcing our own insignificance.

Mount Rainier