Gray Clouds After the Rain

Don't you wish rain storms were as romantic in real life as they are in the movies? I can think of hundreds of films that have a scene when the rain falls and the characters caught in the storm either laugh, cry, shout in anger, fall in love or even dance. And while those scenes make for great movie moments, they aren't very realistic.

We rarely witness rain-filled film scenes depicting how people really behave when it rains. In a summer full of thunderstorms, I've witnessed people in the rain rushing about with their umbrellas, grumbling and complaining about the weather. They drive too fast in their cars. While there are a few who feel joy as the drops fall, abandoning themselves and their umbrellas in the downpour, I've never witnessed dancing during rain showers like Gene Kelly in "Singing in the Rain."

I belong to the group who huddle under umbrellas and avoid stepping in puddles during a storm. But, when the sky begins to clear and it's spotted with gray clouds and blue sky, I do find myself whistling. I'll even admit to skipping a little bit on my way once the rain stops falling.

After the storm passes, everything seems lighter. Then, laughing, singing, dancing and the like seem as natural a reaction as it does in our favorite movies.