I have a love/hate relationship with rainy days. I don't mind them on days where I am inside. The rhythmic sound of the rain drops constantly hitting the glass windows and aluminum awnings can be very soothing while you are trying toget some work done or even try to sleep. However, I hate having to deal with the rain if I am outside driving in it or walking in it, especially if I am without one of my many promotional umbrellas. So on rainy days like today, I become reminiscent of a day over the summer that didn't have any rain in the forecast.
One day over the summer, I decide to take my lovely girlfriend into Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where we can have some of her favorite ice cream and do something that she has always wanted to do; walk across the Williamsburg Bridge. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, so we drive in to Brooklyn. We park the car, grab some delicious ice cream from Van Leeuwun, and head toward the bridge. As we walk and eat our ice cream, we discuss what we plan to do on the other side of the bridge. The conclusion was to visit a place notorious for having a wide variety of good donuts. A place called Donut Plant. Perfect! With a walk this long, I deserve the treat at the end.
The saying goes, you never really know how big something is unless your nose-to-nose with it. Well, now that I am at the beginning of the bridge, I am realizing how long this walk will be. Now to those of you who may know me, I appear to be a physically fit person however, after years of working from behind a desk and computer, the muscle that I once had is now merely an illusion. Regardless, we begin the journey into Manhattan.
The walk to Manhattan was nice. Long, but nice. It was nice with the sun beating down while we finished up our ice cream. We got to watch cyclists zip past us, weaving through people who are walking along the bike path. We were even able to listen in on some of the most bizarre conversations. It was quite entertaining at some points. About forty five minutes later, we cross the bridge. Once we clear the crowds at the end of the bridge, we head to the Donut Plant, which is only a few blocks away. When we get there, there's a line forming just outside the door. We wait and chat with the people online, patiently waiting our turn to order. Another twenty minutes pass and finally we are at the counter. We order our donuts, pay the cashier, step outside and take our bites into what ended up being an unappetizing donut. Yes folks, a place called the Donut Plant ended having donuts that taste as bad a Dunkin' Donuts. They had very little toppings and fillings, and the taste was very bland. I was thoroughly disappointed. At this point, it was getting close to dinner, and we wanted to eat back in Brooklyn. So we decide to cut our losses and head back into Brooklyn, bland donuts and all.
Now I cannot stress this point enough: "THERE WAS NO RAIN IN THE FORECAST. NO WEATHERMAN ON ANY STATION, OR ON MY PHONE, CALLED FOR RAIN THAT DAY!" The skies were blue and the sun was bright that day, even as we were walking back into Brooklyn. We get a third of the way over the bridge, and it starts to get cooler, and the sun seems to disappear. I turn around I see these dark gray clouds coming in over the skyscrapers and following us. We try to hurry across the bridge, but it was no use. The clouds were faster and it began to rain...HARD. With no overhang on the bridge, and any promotional umbrella or promotional poncho in hand, we just had to suck it up, get soaking wet, and push on. We ended the day in with the heat on full blast, trying to dry enough to enjoy a meal.
Since this day happened, I now keep a promotional umbrella and poncho in my car and another promotional umbrella in my jacket's inside pocket. That way I am never without protection from the elements.
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