I love rain. I always have. One of my favorite childhood memories is lying on my back in our front yard and looking up into the sky during a thunderstorm. The cracks of lightening and claps of thunder were absolutely awesome to my young self. And then once the rain stopped I floated paper boats down the gutter. I was a happy kid when the thunderstorms blew through Pueblo. About the only time I do not like rain is when I get caught driving in a thunderstorm at twilight.
Lately it seems we have entered a feast or famine era for rain.Many places have endured years of drought followed by vast amounts of rain. We are now in the midst of fire season out west and unfortunately there is no rain at this point in time. You can be sure, however, that it will rain like hedouble hockey sticks as soon as the fire season ends, thus creating serious issues with mudslides and the like. Mother nature can be a real bitch if she wants to, but we need the rain.
Of course we humans romanticize things and walking in the rain is a favorite of many people - myself included. Funnily enough, in my experience it (walking in the rain) is something that sounds great in the planning stage but the results may be quite mixed. Especially if it is a cold rain. Of course you get soaked to the bone - no big deal on a warm summers eve but unpleasant as hell when it is cold. Yep - one man or woman's art is an other's lame experience.
Another rain experience not to be missed IMHO is listening to the rain in a building with a metal/tin /roof. It is a great sleep aid, meditation aid (I have been told as i do not meditate) or just a simple way to kick back and relax. We could all use a little more relax time.
Water rights and the proper management of same are critical to our planet's and our long term survival. Things are rapidly changing and water as a resource needs effective management. Violent conflicts over water rights have been with us forever - and the situation will only get worse as the world population increases and sources of clean water diminish My blogging partner Ramana covered this in a previous blog. which you may revisit here if you'd like. Companies like Nestle would like nothing more than to privatize the world's water supply so that it can be fully monetized and thus essentially weaponised. Big companies like nothing more than to control the supply of a product and they consider water nothing but a source of potential profit. If they can figure a way to monetize the world supply of fresh air, rest assured they will try to do so if a technology ever appears.
Harvesting rainwater resources is not a new idea but it is something that has largely fallen out of favor these days. I think it is critical we reverse that trend unless we are prepared to have an all out conflict over water availability. To not reverse that trend is a lose - lose proposition as far as I am concerned. And, the notion that it may be illegal to harvest rainwater in some areas is a moral and ethical challenge that must be met. To see how the USA measures up in that regard, check this blog. You might find some of the info enlightening, troublesome or otherwise interesting.
One thing I suspect you have fathomed is that rain is the topic of some excellent music, some of which I have provided here for your listening pleasure.
And let us not forget the written word such as this little ditty from Shel Silverstein:
I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.
I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can’t do a handstand–
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said–
I’m just not the same since there’s rain in my head.
That's it for this weeks topic - rains. I hope you had a nice break from the days stress and worries with some light reading and a damp concert. See ya next week, same bat time, same bat channel. And I wonder, yes I wonder - who'll stop the rain.
Much to think about rain here. Those of us experiencing drought have wishes for rain very much on our minds. I've fond memories of light summer rains, walking in them in the Midwest when I lived there near the Great Lakes. Then, when in the Southwest the fierce storms we encountered, referred to as their monsoons, were quite a contrast.
ReplyDeleteInteresting group of "rain" tunes. Enjoyed Shel Silverstein's poem. Yes, commercial entities have been quietly buying up water rights all over the world for several decades. There will be a decade of reckoning -- if not in my lifetime, eventually. Companies want to do the same thing with seeds -- monopolize them and more.
Most of my family are in northern California and went through massive drought that was cleared by one massively rainy season - I certainly hope the cycle does not restart. The way companies act makes it clear why so many big ones follow 45 - all hail the oligarchs.
DeleteI don't like rain at all, an unfortunate trait when I live in rainy Northern Ireland. But to me there's nothing more miserable than plodding through teeming rain and possibly getting soaked to the skin. Give me bright sunshine any day.
ReplyDeleteYes, water resources are becoming a big issue, especially with the extreme droughts we're now seeing in numerous countries. I can foresee some violent clashes over ownership and use of rivers if the situation gets worse.
Perhaps I would not be so enamored of the rain had I lived ina place where the rain was more constant but my primary residences have all pretty much been places with strictly seasonal rain - I too love the drama and excitement of a thunderstorm
DeleteOh, I do like thunderstorms though - as long as I'm not outside in one. I love the drama, the lightning and thunder and the sound of the rain crashing onto roofs and roads.
ReplyDeleteOH! I love Shel Silverstein's poetry. had forgotten all about him!
ReplyDeleteand you know how I love the rain. I have to keep myself from talking about it! it could rain every other day as far as I'm concerned.
and to think that Nestle would do that... I remember being shocked the first time you told of it. I have boycotted them ever since. and they're far reaching in their products of course.
here's to rainy day music! SH
Nestle is like stage 4 cancer that has reached the bones and other organs. Greed magnified - though of course they call it just good business sense. I say BS.
DeleteTrust me, when I suggested the topic, I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that you will come up with a feast of music and I am not disappointed. Yes, rain as a topic seems to fascinate musicians and poets and it is no different here in our classical as well as popular genres. I had half a mind to post a Hindi clip but, decided against it as most of my readers are from the West.
ReplyDeleteClimate change and erratic behaviour of the seasons is not something that can be brushed under the carpet any more. Here too we are having unpredictable seasons and this year, the states which get maximum rain fall are getting over the limit and flash floods are killing people and animals like never before. On the other hand, where rain is badly needed, there has been deficit rain fall and the farmers are in distress.
Nuts.
You definitely lobbed me a musical softball with this one but alo a fun topic to write on
ReplyDelete