Days Like These

Days like these — gray, rainy, chilly, damp, gloomy — seem perfectly suited for writing. Perhaps I should move somewhere like Seattle?

’Course, it’s s’posed to rain like this for the next 40 days or so ... so maybe I am already in the perfect climate for writing. Besides, even if I were in Seattle, I undoubtedly would find yet another reason for slacking.

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The word climate “climate” reminds me of the time in grade school when one of my teachers (I think it might have been Mrs. Weakly, which would have meant fourth grade, but I cannot say so for certain). Anyhoo, the teacher asked the class, “Can anyone tell me what the word ‘climate’ means?” and of course almost everyone in the class raised his or her hand, so of course the teacher (I am pretty sure it was Mrs. Weakly, now that I think about it) asked Jon, one of the students who in fact had not raised his hand.

Jon shrugged and said, “It’s like when you have a mountain, and you have to climate.”

*Puzzled expressions, all ’round*

Which reminds me of my Weather & Climate class in college. It was a four-hour course, and combined with the five-hour algebra course I took, knocked out the nine-hour math/science requirement in two classes. (I realize, now, at age 40, that I was a complete idiot for doing so. I was always good at math AND science, so I wonder what possessed me to major in journalism and minor in English? Oh, yeah: I wanted to be a writer.)

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Back on topic: In my Weather & Climate class, we had to give a report (written or oral) on some aspect of weather and how it related to our major. I do not recall my own topic; however, I very vividly recall the topic presented by the red-headed girl named Karen who looked like Dave Smitgens (sp?): “How Clouds Have Been Portrayed in Paintings.” (Karen also was the girl who sang that killer version of “Ghost in You” with my roommate’s boyfriend that time at the Uptowner/Cellar.) Her W&C report was most excellent: She presented a slide show and discussed various artists and their works, showing how clouds were depicted throughout the ages, and afterwards, she asked if anyone had any questions.

One guy raised his hand. “What are clouds made of?” he asked.

HUH??!

*Again: Puzzled expressions all ’round*

(“They” say there is no such thing as a stupid question. This, however, is one of the biggest lies ever told.)

Karen just looked at the guy. “Uh, did you listen to anything I said?”

(I suppose that, too, was a stupid question. Clearly, the guy had not heard one word!)