Rain – a love/hate story

February 28, 2010 - 2:45 PM by

I really hate the rain. Oh, I know it’s good for us and the country desperately needs to refill its reservoirs. I just wish we could get all our rainfall at night, when I’m sleeping. Getting caught in a daytime downpour is one of my most dreaded activities. It’s cold, my glasses get pelted so I can barely see, and I’m always afraid that sloshing through puddles will ruin my shoes.

Now, my wife Jody and I are regular exercisers. Our main workout is running – we head to the streets 3-4 times a week, on several different circuits in southern Jerusalem. Our favorite is along the Sherover and Goldman Promenades, overlooking the Old City. We also run up to the Ramat Rachel kibbutz and back, and through the German Colony.

This morning, the skies looked ominous. It had been thundering all weekend, but at 9:00 AM, the ground was dry. We decided to chance it. Strapping on our iPods, we headed out on the closest route to home towards the Old Katamon neighborhood.

About five minutes into our run, we felt a few drops from above but not enough to turn back. I can deal with a light drizzle as long as it stops and starts. Which is exactly what it was doing. So far so good.

10 minutes into the run, the rain started coming down harder. We were in San Simon Park and ducked under a tree until the rain lightened up. Then we were off again.

As we turned back onto Kovshei Katamon Street, the skies opened up big time. There was a bus stop across the street. We dashed between oncoming vehicles where we took shelter to wait it out.

Only this time, the rain didn’t abate – it intensified. The streets began to fill up. It’s amazing how quickly water can come cascading down a slight hill in the midst of Israeli city. It was easy to imagine how a flash flood could appear out of nowhere.

As the gullies deepened, the splashes from nearby cars loomed closer. When a truck rumbled by, soaked us from head to toe. We knew it was time to head home…regardless of the downpour.

For the next five minutes, we sprinted through the streets as if wading in a freezing swimming pool. We were up to our ankles in a gray and brown Jerusalem liquid mix. Since I was running blind (the glasses thing, remember?), if there had been a pothole, I would have been a goner.

We made it home and our teenager daughter laid out large beach towels at the door to mop up our mess.

All I wanted at that point was a nice hot shower. I threw myself under the water, only to realize too late that there had not been enough sun that morning to power the solar heater and we had neglected to turn on the electric timer.

Sitting in the kitchen, sipping a cup of tea, Jody tried to lighten the mood, pushing a more optimistic agenda. After today, she said, it couldn’t possibly get any worse.

That’s when we heard the drip-drop of the rain again. We looked up. It was coming through the roof.

Did I mention I hate the rain?

Tags: , , • Category: Environment, Israeliness, Life 

Comments

2 Comments on Rain – a love/hate story

  1. Maya (from How To Be Israeli) on Mon, Mar 1st 2010 3:06 PM

    2. I completely agree… I love sitting inside while it’s raining and know we need the rain, but I’m also a runner and I really hate running in the rain. Plus my running partner and I always wimp out when the sky looks gray. Thank G-d for the exercise bike in my living room!

  2. Life as a board game | ISRAELITY on Fri, Mar 12th 2010 9:52 AM

    3. [...] And don’t even get me started about the roof – I wrote about that in a previous post. [...]

Leave a Comment





© 2012 ISRAELITY | Sitemap