Talkin' to myself and feelin' oldSometimes I'd like to quitNothin' ever seems to fitHangin' aroundNothin' to do but frownRainy days and Mondays always get me down
Don't rain on my parade (Song from Funny Girl, Broadway show 1964)
Rain man....... only known as that because his baby brother couldn't pronounce Raymond.
"Spahn and Sain and pray for rain." 1948, Boston Braves. Their pitching staff, with the exception of Spahn, and Sain, was dismal, thus - the saying. Interesting (to me anyways) Sain was the last man to pitch to Babe Ruth (1943 exhibition game @ Yankee Stadium) and the very first man to pitch to Jackie Robinson, 1947.
Smile won't come out? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow says "Into each life some rain must fall."
"Some people walk in the rain. Others just get wet." Roger Miller
This guy's grandpa was the strongest man in the Union Army, winning every heavyweight wrestling championship there was. He, the grandson, was a farmhand as a kid, lifting ten-gallon milk cans (95 pounds apiece). He was stronger'n Popeye. He earned 12 letters in HS sports, was an All-American QB, gained a Scholarship to Oregon, but, he wanted to play baseball. He lived though, in Spudsville (Idaho) and the area didn't garner much attention from pro scouts. Finally, a Utah Senator convinced Washington Senator (Baseball team) owner Clark Griffith to have a scout check him out. Except. Rain. Rain happened. So, the locals, who loved the guy, set afire a tater field, dried up enough for one Harmon Killebrew to exhibit his batting skills... He hit one sooooo fer, the scout came back the next day and measured it at 435 feet.. Cha-ching, $50,000 contract. When Harmon retired, he had more home runs than any other right handed hitter in the American League.
Rain. Ball game cancelled.
Rain. Ball glove left out. Uh oh.
Rain. Mud puddles and galoshes.
Rain. Plan B as a kid.
Rain forecast. Not the ideal day to take one's 2 yr old granddaughter for a ride in 'new' convertible.
'Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Kudos to the dudes and dudettes of the USPS. Me and my buddies, having loaded airplanes a time or two (Airlines too go in all kindsa weather).. you can dress for cold. You can take off for hot...but, there ain't no getting away from rain.
If you are like me (wow, I feel sorry for you if you are!)... if you are like me, you would think the place where it rains the least would be some place like Arica, a port city in Chile.. over a 43 year period, Arica received an annual rainfall of .02 inches of rain. But nooooooooooooooooooo. It's in Antartica, a place called Dry Valleys and it ain't rained for nearly 2 MILLION years. (This stat was confirmed by Mr. Peabody and Sherman, if you remember them.)
Rick Dempsey had a damn fine Major League baseball career, 24 years to be exact. But, he was probably more remembered for his anitcs, entertainment during rain delays. Back in the day, they fined players for throwing balls into the stands. Rick didn't care. He'd challenge sections of the stadium to see which would holler loudest and then award them with a baseball. He did the slip and slide on the wet tarp that covered the field. The first time he did this, he'd gone on down to the locker room to change, get dry - but, fans were chanting "WE WANT DEMPSEY", so, he kept his uni on, stuck a pillow up under it, brought a bat and went on to mimic Babe Ruth's 'called shot'. He pointed to the right field bleachers - and on his second swing, he went into his home run trot. Fans went nuts, he slid into home. Band camp, long ago, I had pretty decent seats for a Royals/Orioles game. Damn if it didn't rain. Mr. Dempsey came out and entertained us for at least 20 minutes in the rain. Finally, while 'pitching', he did this really wacky swinging of his arms in a big ole circle about twenty times, backwards and forwards... finally he lets the ball leave his hand.... and YES... straight to my lap. ME. THE. ONLY. BALL. I. EVER. GOT. A. MAJOR. LEAGUE. GAME. I looked to my right. My 4 yr old niece. Dangit darnit (of course said lovingly), I couldn't keep it -she got it. Raindrops kept falling on my head.
Enjoy the rain today. There's a drought, so no doubt, we need it.
"The way I see it, if you want a rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." Dolly Parton
By Henry Gibson Forward by Rocky, Bullwinkle, Natasha and Dustin Hoffman
Love, Victurd
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