Walking in the Rain
It has to rain some. I mentioned before that heavy rain had already caused Elaine to skip a scheduled day of walking and make it up with one of her days scheduled to be off. But we knew that it would happen eventually. The next time rain occurred on a day that was scheduled for work, Elaine walked. She had a raincoat, both for her and Chester. Chester didn’t like it, but Elaine put it on him anyway. They looked so cute, the two of them toddling off down the path in bright rain gear! This might be the time to mention Elaine’s backpack. I picked it up one day and couldn’t believe how heavy it was! She carries items for every contingency: water, several items of clothing, reading materials, first aid stuff, camera, etc. I’ve never gone through it, and don’t want to, but I’m sure there is something heavier than the above in there to make it weigh so much. Including, of course, rain gear for her and Chester. Anyway, they were under weigh that day, just like every day, with ample preparation; like a ship loaded with treasure leaving the harbor on a rainy day. And, they were not very adversely affected by the rain. It was a little colder than was quite comfortable, but everyone came through in good health.
…Elaine and Chester walking in the rain.
(Footnote: I purposely used the analogy of a ship because of the earlier idiom “under weigh.” It’s a pet peeve of mine when we (Americans) take a perfectly good phrase and corrupt it; in this case to “under way,” which makes little sense. It took C.S. Lewis many years ago to make me aware of this tendency, and I’ve never quite shaken it off. Can you think of other examples? Share them in a comment if you can.) (Postscript: Elaine did not like the word “toddling.” I guess we have another example of an americanized word or phrase, since I was using the verb “toddle off” not “toddle.” You can substitute saunter, amble, perambulate, mosey, drift, wander, meander, or sashay if you feel it’s important. As far as I understand them, however, the unique connotations associated with “toddle off” are what I intended.)
Monday 16 Jun 2008 | dent | sabbatical, 2: walking 1: DC to Hancock