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In the Presence of a Cold Rain
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There was cold rain coming down all around the man as he walked briskly down the street. He had only a few blocks more to walk.
It wasn’t a heavy rain, but in the darkness of the night the sound of the rain came to his ears in better ways than the sight of it came to his eyes. The constant pitter-patter on the pavement around him and the recognizable drips that fell on his shoulders set him in a world of only rain.
The rain that fell did not take him by surprise. When he had left his home around ten minutes ago, it was raining then too. He had even left his umbrella.
You see, he enjoyed walking in the rain.
The pavement in front of him stretched out before him like a long black mirror.
He arrived at the cafe he was going to, ordered, then received his coffee, and sat down in a sofa next to a window so he could stare out at the rain.
Next to him a man a few years older looked over the top of the newspaper and glanced at him as he stared out into the night.
After a few seconds the man behind the newspaper said softly, “I can see that you enjoy the rain.”
“Yes, I do enjoy the rain–very much.”
The two men sat there staring into the night, into the rain.
After a few minutes, the man behind the newspaper said, “Say, my name is Jeff. Yours?”
“Mark. Nice to meet you Jeff.”
“You know,” said Jeff, “I like the rain too Mark.”
Soft and deliberate piano notes were playing in the background and mingled with the chitter-chatter of the voices from the small groups of people huddled around them. The sound of rain drops hitting the window they both looked through was barely noticeable while long streaks of water ran down the pane, driven by determined droplets who charged along with the consent of gravity while they spilled their contents behind them.
“Mark?” Jeff asked.
“Yeah?” asked Mark underneath the soft orange glow coming from the lamp above his head.
“You know, I once lived in Montana.”
“Oh really? How was it?”
“I loved it. I was almost sixty miles from a major city. I lived on an old ranch. Literally, I was in the middle of nowhere. Just me and the dirt, and the sky.”
“So why did you move to the city?” asked Mark.
“I had to find more work, so I moved here.”
The blurry white headlights from cars passing by on the street danced across their view while blurry figures of people dashed across the street.
“Do you know what I liked best about Montana?” asked Jeff.
“What’s that?” asked Mark.
“The rain.”
“You see,” continued Jeff, “We’re in the midst of this enormous world, and over the course of this human progress, all this technology, all these city lights, all these skyscrapers and computers and cell phones, beyond all these electronics, and international conglomerates, between space travel, political strife at every corner of the world, between energy concerns and social strife…” he took a breath, “…at the very root of it all, we still just have Man and the rain. Always have. Always will. And in the end, there’s nothing quite as nice as just a man in the rain.”
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13 Responses to “In the Presence of a Cold Rain”
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Plus bike, plus wind in your face. I agree.
Hayden Tompkins´s last blog post..We Have Moved!
God I think I am awfully cynical. I can say you wrote the picture of these men well- I saw the story unfold in my mind. I like that you can appreciate rain- I can in some situations, but day to day- not so much.
Wow .. great story!
“at the very root of it all, we still just have Man and the rain. Always have. Always will.”
A couple of years ago I was on a retreat and there was one of the strongest thunder storms I can remember. Rain was torrential with great pools of water building up in seconds. Quite spontaneously 5 or 6 of us did something I had always thought would be cool but never had the courage or place to do. After all it’s not something a fortysomething ‘does’! We stripped off almost naked, ran outside and danced in that storm. It was more than ‘cool’ - it was one of the most cathartic experiences of my life. 10 minutes of complete letting go, just a man and the rain.
Thanks for bringing that memory back! Ian
Ian Peatey´s last blog post..Dwelling on the lighter side
[...] presents In the Presence of a Cold Rain posted at I Will Not [...]
The internet and all it’s wonderful applications are just tools. If we didn’t have those, then we wouldn’t be able to share our appreciation with the world (I say the internet, but I honestly mean any means of mass communication).
I really, really liked this - especially the ending.
Matthew Dryden´s last blog post..Tree’s First Entry: Familiar Beginnings
Upon us all a little rain must fall.
Paul´s last blog post.."Why have you farrrrrsaken me?"
@ Hayden - And even besides the bike trip, hibernated as it is for the moment…
@ Veronica - Eh? You’re a cynic? I had no idea. But even so, it is besides the rain itself.
@ Ian - The story you have just shared is a remarkable one, truly. I’m going to have to give that a shot sometime.
@ Matthew - I completely affirm your respect for the utility of the technologies we each use. I’m glad you liked, especially the ending. I’ll be back to your site soon. I have lots of comments to make, but little time as I job seek.
@ Paul - It took me a Google search to remember where those came from; I recognized them, but could not quite place them. And when I did, I thought, “Of course!” — thank you Red Z
Or a woman in the rain. I like this post.
Beth Partin´s last blog post..Yes, Virginia, Animals Are Gay
Quite so. I hope it was implied; man as mankind. It’s so hard to be politically correct without including too many words or funny words that don’t sound right, like “people.”
Well (copyeditor here) “Man in the rain” and “a man in the rain” don’t mean quite the same thing. Though “Man in the rain” sounds like a 50s news show to me. But I agree, “human beings in the rain” sounds pretty weird. Perhaps “humanoid”?
Beth Partin´s last blog post..Everything Around Basie Was Hip
[...] presents In the Presence of a Cold Rain posted at I Will Not [...]
[...] In the Presence of a Cold Rain by Dereck There was cold rain coming down all around the man as he walked briskly down the street. He had only a few blocks more to walk. [...]
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