The Golden Van: Raining Frogs

There is a school of thought along the lines of: cold nasty wet weather is the right weather to sit indoors under a blanket with a cup of tea and a "good" book. I say screw that, I am perfectly capable of hunkering indoors on bright sunny days if I feel like hunkering. As to what constitutes a good book versus the alternative, I have no suggestions. I like a book that absorbs my interest and whether it's good or bad I don't much care. And if you are an anti-Kindle holdout let me tell you electronic books are amazing wonderful and utterly brilliant. You don't need weather like this to get into your Kindle:

There is a part of me that likes the idea of renting a cabin in February, a week in Vermont say, under a blanket of snow with supplies, a fireplace and a happy dog. The trouble is I keep forgetting how antsy I get when the sun stops shining. On foul weather days I stand at the window with a vacant stare like I'm waiting for my ship to come in. Actually touching snow gives me the creeps, I don't like being cold and the invigorating effects of cold noses and cold feet do nothing for me. The idea of being trapped in a cabin in Vermont is, in reality, so absurd for me that I catch myself wondering how self deluded am I really?

It's an ill wind that blows no one any good, as the saying goes, so the forecast that predicts heavy insistent rain all this week has its good side for night police dispatchers the week of Fantasy Fest. Rain usually keeps calls for service in check. Alcohol consumption drops and with it we get fewer incidents which is great. Which also means less money is changing hands which isn't so great and a lot of people are watching their much anticipated vacations in the sun turn into soggy mush which is even less great.

On the other hand rain at Fantasy Fest seems to be a tradition even though this year a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico is pushing a stream of rain at us. So dampness should be expected, if not this level of continuous heavy rain. Cheyenne does not like walking in the rain nd her frustration s palpable as though this stuff is my fault, a state of affairs created to please me, and annoy her. I wish it were because then I could turn it off.

I am benching my Bonneville this week to commute by car. It's not so much the rain as the number of distracted drivers. Next week we return to highway somnolence until Christmas but this week people are arriving in long lines of drivers texting, or fiddling with GPS as they drive the sole route to Key West. At night one can add a high proportion of alcohol impaired people nd riding a motorcycle becomes a losing proposition. In the rain people drive even more badly so I'm sticking to the Fusion.