Snapshots of a Modest Life

Tornado Green Skies and a Walk Home in the Rain

This afternoon several of my roommates and I sat on the living room couches watching random television programs about various things. Suddenly someone looked out the window, noticing that the sky no longer wore the dismal shade of gray it had all day, but a rather ominous shade of green. Tornado green. One would think that collectively we would have enough sense to stay indoors where the threat of being blown away in a Wizard of Oz-like tornado and inevitably smashing a wicked witch of the east with our house did not exist. Alas, we were not so fortunate and adjourned to the patio to watch the green sky move above our heads, the wind visibly move towards us and the numerous students scurry for cover from the wind and rain. You are no doubt expecting something bad to happen. Sadly, the story of life is not nearly as interesting as Techni-color movies, and no one was swept over the rainbow by a fierce tornado. The conversation reached its high point when it turned to the unshaven status of my legs and everyone else's (hey, Spring Break is long over, and shaving is pointless when you only ever wear jeans anyway) and the monster bruise I got on my knee from Aerobic Conditioning ("gym" as I like to call it). Okay, so the bruise really isn't that big, but haven't I warned you that I'm prone to exaggeration? As you read this, you're probably hoping that I don't tell you the story of the bruise. Don't worry, I won't. It's not that interesting.

After dinner I went to go see Metamorphosis at the Lab Theatre. It was amazingly good, go see it. It ended around nine o'clock, and not wanting to get stuck in the post show rush for the door, I left quickly. I bounced down the stairs (I'm bouncy, what can I say?) and quickly realized that it was beginning to rain, or perhaps just finishing. Oh well, I thought, I've been wet before, and a little water never hurt anyone, except for that kid I saw on Oprah who was allergic to water. I had, in fact, been wet in the same rainwater fashion less then a week before after an ill timed stroll to M.'s apartment in a mild deluge bearing poker chips; by the time I arrived at M.'s, I looked like something out of a bad romance movie of the Lifetime style, but man, I felt romantic. My train of thought continued: It's not raining too hard, I should be home before the heavy stuff gets here. Having lived in Florida for quite some time I am familiar with the rain patterns of the area, however on this occasion, I forgot my years of training and was promptly soaked with the torrential downpour which inevitably follows the "I'll be home before it really starts raining" thought. Since I was only at the corner of Pensacola and Copeland (or in non-FSU terms, a long way from home) by the time my underwear was starting to dampen [from the rain], I decided that the best way to finish my walk home would be by taking my time and enjoying the lights shining on the wet pavement; so that's what I did. My super high quality Target flip-flops quit being effective in the traction department somewhere around the faculty parking lot across from the Williams building. I took them off, not wanting to suffer a dangerous, and no doubt funny, slip as I walked. As I rambled on, I would occasionally see a fellow student caught in the rain hurrying along the sidewalk, trying to get their belongings under the tiny umbrellas which most people carry in their backpacks. You know the type: cute, fun colored, resilient to most weather that doesn't involve anything worse than a light breeze or sprinkle. It was a truly pleasant walk. I arrived at my house, still thinking of Gene Kelly dancing in a deep puddle, to the sound of C.'s voice saying, "Oh Laura, you're wet!" The silent dialogue in my head replied, "Why, yes, I am. How could you tell? Was it the water dripping from every follicle of hair on my body, or the rain drops on my glasses, or the water soaked bottoms of my pants, or perhaps the shivering figure standing on the doorstep?"

That was basically the end of my evening. It was a good evening, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. To top it off, I also found out that my favorite TA is back in town and may very well be teaching my European Theatre History class next semester. Yay!! On a different note, I was hoping to return to my light-hearted self this post...have I succeeded?