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Friday, July 13, 2012

The day after the rains



It must be an old man thing, where certain things trigger a mind- wandering experience of yesteryear, or as I like to call it" simpler times." This morning, the calming affect of the rain stopping, took me back to the mid 1950s through the very early 1960s.

We didn't have the electronic marvels of today, so we had to create our own amusement. Right now, I can just picture my children rolling their eyes in unison, saying," Back in my day."

I remember always getting excited about seeing a rainbow after the rain stopped; why, I'll never know. Everything centered around baseball in the neighborhood I grew up in, so we didn't let the wet fields deter us. If it was too muddy outside, we would gather at someone's house or garage and play a baseball card game, we made up. All we needed to play our outside game of stick-ball was the 4 feet of carpet grass that extended on both sides of the driveway to the paved street. A broomstick handle (broom part sawed off) and a tennis ball. It was a three-person game but two could play the game, if the  pitcher didn't mind retrieving the hit ball. I still swear to this day, that it helped us with our hand to eye coordination because a pitcher would throw the ball as hard as he could, from 30 feet away, and we would have to hit that wet tennis ball with the  broom handle. We tried the game with a normal wooden bat but we couldn’t generate enough bat speed with our small wrists and body frame. It would have been nice if we had a nice thick industrial broom handle but our moms bought the cheapies from a, Five-and-dime store or Dick’s.

Some days it was just fun to get on our bicycles and ride through every mud puddle we could find along the way. If we were lucky, some girls were playing hopscotch, jacks, or just walking down the sidewalk, near a puddle of water. You guessed it;It was a race to the puddle to watch the girls scatter or get wet. I can still remember those old black ankle- high tennis shoes drying out on the front porch after a day of restless roving. Mom didn't want mud being tracked through the house ,so sometimes we had to dry them out in the old gas oven and put up with the complaints about them stinking up the house.

I can remember it being pretty quiet(except for us) the day after a rain because no one was no one was mowing their lawn, and if we saw any cars, they were going slow to avoid getting their breaks wet. The adults would be setting on their front porch, drinking a cold brew of their choice, watching the city kids play their silly games.

I think rain effects peoples moods or else there wouldn't be so many songs with the word rain in them.
Here are few:

1.     Singing in the Rain
2.     Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
3.     Acid Rain
4.     Come Rain or Come Shine
5.     Baby Can You Stop the Rain
6.     After the Rain Has Fallen
7.     Somewhere Over the Rainbow
8.     Rainy Day
9.     Under the Rainbow
10.  Summer Rain
11.  Rain When I Die
12.  Purple Rain
13.  Naked in the Rain
14.  November Rain
15.  Looks Like Rain

      I bet you can add several songs with the word "rain" in it.


  • Do you have any memories from the day after the rains?
    It's another open thread Friday 13th.
  • 38 comments:

    Tophat said...

    "Rain" The Beatles

    "Who'll stop the Rain" CCR

    First two that came to mind-

    Mike said...

    Thanks Tophat.......Hearing the thunder, I thought of “I would wish it would rain" by the Temptations, and Brooke Benton's "Rainy Night in Georgia."

    dale said...

    Yep, right after a very heavy flood we went to the farm over at DaCosta. Bambi (a hereford) had given birth to her first calf. When mom and I arrived in the field the calf was laying totally in the water with only its nose stuck in the air. I grabbed the calf up in my arms and we proceeded to carry this wet calf on my shoulders the 300 yards to the barn. The cow was following behind me, just taking in the experience. By the time we had the calf in the barn my shoulder was yellow with poop and pee. My mom and I had a great time figuring out the name for the calf. Bossy? No-name? Deep freeze? We settled in on the name Roberta. And that is a story all on its own. I miss my mom.

    Mike said...

    I hear you, dale, my mom has been gone for 7 years now and there is still not a day I don't miss her.

    That's a great story, thanks for sharing.

    The one thing that was common to all the farmers and ranchers I've ever worked with was the subject of rain... When we city slickers tired of all the rain, they wanted more.. Where we wanted some rain, they wanted a delay so they could get their crops in..They were never satisfied..:-) When they greeted another farmer/rancher it was a handshake and "how many inches of rain did you get last night." Every one of them had a rain gauge and they could tell you precisely the last time it rained.

    dale said...

    PS we got the maize out of the fields on saturday. :) An 82 year record. Add that to last year's record cotton crop... farming can be ok.... if you forget the previous 32 years.

    Mike said...

    LOL..."farming can be ok.... if you forget the previous 32 years."

    "You love it ;it's in your blood" as my former work pals used to say.

    Sugar Magnolia said...

    I love love LOVE this weather! Sure beats the hell out of last summer.

    Those are great memories, Mike and Dale. Did you know this year marks the 60th anniversary of the release of "Singing in the Rain"? What a great movie that was; I was more partial to Donald O'Connor than to Gene Kelly.

    Mike, you pegged the two greatest "rain" songs... "I Wish it Would Rain" and "Rainy Night in Georgia" - I could listen to those (and the thunder and the rain on the roof" all day long!

    I do think this is starting to get to me, though - I just had a dream about driving along from Victoria to Port Lavaca and there was a lot of water on the roadway. Then right ahead of me, is a virtual lake where the road used to be, and next thing I know, I'm floating along in my car on the water. Jeesh, I don't want to experience that in real life! Glad I never really have.

    Unknown said...

    Up here in Austin, we have the Greenbelt. I'm making new memories. After a storm, the trail to one of the many swimming holes is quite a slippery trek, but completely worth it.The mud and muck usually deter others from going, so Rhi and I have the place to ourselves. It's such a beautiful and relaxing place. I'll remember it for the rest of my life.

    Mike said...

    Michael
    A natural swimming hole all to yourself is something to behold.
    Keep the weather in check because Austin is our go-to refuge for Cat. 4 hurricanes.

    Mike said...

    Thanks Sugar
    My son-in-law has told me about plenty of his experiences of  hydroplaning on his way home from Pt.Lavaca ...He told us of those overnight lakes you dreamed about...:-)

    Edith Ann said...

    Rain stories? Perhaps my best is the one year we had a hurricane that just about wiped out Corpus. Refugio, where I lived, was flooded big time. I had never seen it flood in my neighborhood. My brother had an aluminum boat and we went all over the place in that boat.

    When the water began to recede, the Red Cross truck was able to make its ways around town and announce that anyone who had come in contact witht he flood waters was advised to get Typhoid shots. It was a series of three and those SOBs hurt like hell!

    Earlier in my childhood, we experienced Carla in Refugio. I was in the first grade and shortly after Carla my mother wanted to go to Victoria to see her parents. It was my grandmother's birthday. The road to Victoria was flooded at the underpass (Refugio folks know exactly what I am talking about!) and my father had to find a way to get to Victoria! My mother wasn't taking no for an answer!

    I think we ended up somewhere near Stockdale before we were able to make our way back to Victoria!

    I've hydroplaned and THAT is some scary stuff!

    Okay, that's all the stories for now!

    "I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbitt(?).

    Mike said...

    EA

    I remember all those detours when I was working with the HWY dept...We set up  partial road blocks because we didn't have the authority to stop fools who thought they could thread water...about a hour later they would come back asking if we could pull out their cars....We had one come back in reverse because he didn't have enough room to turn around...Luckily,we didn't have too many of those.

    I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbitt is one of those tunes that stays in your head all day long...In fact I can hear the lyrics as I'm writing...:-)

    born2Bme said...

    Rain stories. Can't remember all that much about when I was younger because we really didn't live on a street that flooded and didn't go that many places.
    I now live on a county road that is between a FM road and a Hwy. When it rains too much, both ends of our road flood, so we are stranded, either in, or out.
    I think it was the year that it rained over 20 inches, there was alligator in our ditch and running around on our county road. Now that was freaky. The creek that it came from is at least 2-3 miles away. We were all scared to go outside at night, or let our dogs and cats run free.

    BIGJ said...

    I'm singing in rain, Just signing in the rain, what glorious feeling, I'm happy again, I'm laughing at clouds.

    BIGJ said...

    That is how I feel.

    Rebecca said...

    Very good post. Your blog took me back. I haven't heard "Five-and-dime store" since I was a little girl. Five and dime stores were the forerunner of dollar stores. I remember that the toy section was roped off on Sundays. I guess that made people feel holy to stop children from buying toys on Sunday, the day after the Sabbath. =P It only made the toys look more appealing and made me mad at adults.

    Mike said...

    Good post born

    Alligator in the ditch! That would have made me pack up the car and move...:-)

    I remember driving down a country road during a flood and that was enough..In order to supplement our income one year, I signed up to be a substitute school bus driver (the state had 13 holidays plus vacation and comp days)...As I was leaving to retrieve my bus, the bus barn mgr. told me to back into Benbow Road when I pick up my passengers and she said “don't worry they'll find you.” I thought that rather odd, until after I started backing down the road (after I made the sign of the cross). Backing a long bus down an unfamiliar road with water on both sides was a lot more stressful than that 10 minute backup test I took to be a driver...Anyway, several minutes later(I thought it was an eternity) I saw about 20 kids waiting and waving to me. I opened the bus door and they calmly boarded as if it was routine. When I got back to the barn, I looked at my route and shook my head in amazement...Those kids came from all over the Inez area to meet at one single spot.

    Mike said...

    Thank you very much Rebecca.

    I'm sure by now, you have all the moving boxes unpacked and everything is in place at your new house..:-)

    Was that the old "Blue Laws" you are talking about?....I remember one of my friends had to go to church just about the whole day, came home a little while and then had to go back for evening service...And he couldn't be rewarded with a new toy.?.:-)

    Mike said...

    BigJ

    Glad that you are happy and I'm a bit surprised that you are not posting at ViCad.

    Can't blame you, even Gary White didn't take advantage of a captive audience..It's a little too tame and bland these days.

    Take care and drop by more often and we'll take off where we left off..:-)

    born2Bme said...

    Rebecca, I can remember when everything was closed on Sundays. I didn't like it then, but now, I think it was a good idea.
    Every wonder how much gas, and family money, could be saved if things were closed on one day of the week?
    And, losing that one mandatory day off is when family stopped spending time together.

    Edith Ann said...

    I can remember when stores were closed on Sunday, closed weekdays and Saturdays at 5 or 6, and were only open late on Thursday nights-until 9:00!

    Yes, Texas Blue Laws said certain things could not be sold on Sunday. Many just opted to not open at all. Mom and Pop businesses. It was their day off. Then along came 24 hour Walmart...

    If I am not mistaken, there is a law that says car dealers have to close one day a week. Sometimes you'll see then advertise a sale on Sunday and they will say they are closed on Saturday to prepare (what--they putting out new stock???). Banks can't be closed more than three days in a row, either.

    Mike said...

    The Blue law is a very interesting topic and you can make the case born made, which by the way was lobbied heavily for by religious groups with the intent of protecting the Sabbath and to strengthen the family.

    You can also make the big brother case because the non- religious competitor would like to take advantage of not being compelled by that law.

    Car dealers in Texas are required to be closed one day a week.

    Edith Ann said...

    Honestly, the law outght to be a 'car dealership ad free' law. Give us a rest on Sunday from Killebrew and Ben Keating and Victory Honda and the others!

    Wonder what the thought was on the closed one day a week? And why when the other retail laws evolved, that one didn't?

    Mike said...

    Texas
    Car dealerships must remain closed on either Saturday or Sunday, at the option of the dealer.[43]

    The thought behind it was to force dealerships to give their employees a day of rest.

    Edith Ann said...

    Cause being a car saleman is really back-breaking labor? 8^)

    Sugar Magnolia said...

    Darn you! Darn you all to heck!

    Now I can't get that stupid lame Eddie Rabbitt song outta my head!!!! It's okay, I'll just keep repeating to myself....A rainy night in Georgia...A rainy night in Georgia.

    Ahhhh. That's better!

    And BigJ? Happy? Wow. Mike, your blog does hath charms to soothe. Who knew? Cool!

    Good to hear from you, Rebecca. You know, I still go by your blog to see if anything's new....waiting for a post to let us know how you and your clan are settling in. Hope all is well with you.

    Now isn't this better than that other site....oh, I've already forgotten its name....you know, that one that won't show your posts unless you're on Farcebook...what was that called. Ah, nevermind. Not important!

    A rainy night in Georgia....Lord I believe it's raining all over the world....

    Rebecca said...

    Yes. Born, it sounds like a traditional Sabbath. The Jews didn't go anywhere (travel) on the Sabbath (SATURDAY). In fact, some orthodox Jews unscrew the light bulb in the fridge just in case someone opens the door. They don't want the bulb to work? Something like that. For some reason, that sticks out in my mind.

    A Sabbath... We might really need that. =P

    Rebecca said...

    Sabbath = Saturday =P

    Rebecca said...

    Sabbath starts sun-down on Friday, actually, and ends sun-down on Saturday.

    I've heard people say that if you observe the Sabbath, you are reminded not to take everything for granted. Giving up everything for one day, makes you appreciate it all that much more.

    Mike said...

    According to Merriam-Wbster

    1 a : the seventh day of the week observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening as a day of rest and worship by Jews and some Christians 
    b : Sunday observed among Christians as a day of rest and worship
    2 : a time of rest

    I guess that's why we get confused.

    Mike said...

    LOL...Sugar,my blogs have called a lot of things but soothing one's soul is certainly not one of them.

    I agree it's great to see the old timers (in blogging years) posting again.

    Rebecca said...

    I always heard people refer to Sunday as "The Lord's Day."

    I am not unpacked. I have another shelf to paint so that I can unpack some of my book boxes, AND I have a shelf to stain so that I can unpack the rest of the books. I don't have all the built-in shelving and cabinetry at this house like I did in the Paisano house.

    Most of my boxes contained books. =D

    Rebecca said...

    Poor Matthan, he moved out of his college apartment, back to the Paisano house, had to get packed again to move into THIS house, only to get ready to move back to college. I think he's learning to live light.

    I am about to leave to pick him up from the airport. He was in Indiana as a representative of his fraternity at some event.

    born2Bme said...

    OT here, but I just made an unverified comment over at VA. Just click on the unverified comment button and your old comment box comes up and you just do what you used to do. It doesn't show up under the story, but if you click on the unverified comment button again, the comments come up.
    Actually, there were 2 other comments there that disappeared under the ACA Letter to the Editor

    born2Bme said...

    doesn't look like that option is on the blogs

    Edith Ann said...

    Born--I don't understand why they don't just put them all together. We can still see them, just like we can see the comment that starts out "F*** you Bella..."

    All worried about transparency, not so about profanity! Way to go Advocate!

    Edith Ann said...

    Interesting comment from a FB fan page--

    "It's pretty profound how republicans are not up in arms about this cheater. At least we now know, in 2016, after Obama's 2nd term....no democrat need show but more than one tax return. Or NONE! Cause after this campaign, anyone could be president. The standards of being president are so low now, that it won't matter what you did in your past. All the rules have been broken, or should I say....all the traditional means for president have been diminished, b/c of the republicans. So sad for America and Americans......."

    Sugar Magnolia said...

    Edith Ann and Born - the VicAd doesn't prominently display the unverified comments (which people who don't Farcebook, like myself, can still make) because it's Peach's way of punishing us for not playing his game. I get what ya mean, but remember it's all about those who will now be "rewarded" by being "featured" and those who are punished by not being seen, becoming in effect, persona non grata. From my computer, with my settings, I can see both types of comments. But at work, with different security settings, I cannot see unverified comments. The choice is not even there. Just as if they never existed, so if I didn't know there were such a thing, I would never find out, but since I know, I can't access those comments at work, only at home. I wonder how many other people with certain settings on their computer have no idea there are unverified comments that one should be able to look at? So, see, the VicAd has effectively filtered out those who won't comply. A person may be posting their comments without Farcebook, thinking they are being seen, or at least accessible to others, when many times they are not, and are just wasting their time. Hey, I'll go the "Bella" commenter one better: F**K you Crapocate!

    I would post it on the VicAd, but, guess what? IT WOULDN'T BE SEEN!!!