Rainy Day Woman

One of the first things I invested in after we moved onto Mother Culture was foul weather gear (aka "Foulies").  There is nothing more uncomfortable than taking a seat in a soaking wet dinghy with your street clothes on.  So after our first rain storm of 2008, I saved up my duckets and bought this snazzy red suit.  It serves two purposes really:  1) It keeps me dry.  2) If I fall in the water (and am able to stay afloat long enough wrapped in this ridiculous Santa Claus suit) someone is sure to spot me and save me.  Luckily, I'm not much bothered by looking like a jackass. 

The most important accessory to my outfit are my knee high rubber boots.  These boots are important for two reasons: 1) Girls can never have too many pairs of shoes. 2) These boots enable me to stand in puddles of water 12 inches deep (aka "my dinghy after a rain storm").  My neighbor Ray informed me of an unfortunate truth about these boots, however:  if you fall into the water while wearing them, they fill up with water and act as an anchor, dragging you down.  [Note to Self: Never, NEVER fall into the water wearing these boots.]

This here is our Thirsty-Mate.  Actually, it now belongs to the thief who stole it from us.  (Anyone who knows about the mooring field knows that people will steal anything that isn't locked down. And unfortunately, we didn't lock this one down.)  Upon first glance, and based on the name of course, you might suspect this little device is used for sailor drinking games.  But that isn't so.  This is a nifty device used to pump water out of dinghies.  Oh, how I miss the Thirsty-Mate!  Here you can see me hard at work in my dinghy, wearing my boots, pumping the water out with my Thirsty-Mate.   

Sometimes it happens that I'm caught on land when the rain starts.  To minimize the possibility of getting soaked in situations like these, I keep a pair of Frogg Toggs in my car.  My mother bought Ben and I each a pair for Christmas a couple years back.  I can't tell you the number of times I've outsmarted the rain by having these in my car. 

So, to the Rain I repeat some very wise words I heard once upon a time in Texas or Tennessee: "Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."