I was in junior high, probably 7th grade, the first time I heard the phrase "the devil is beating his wife." I was on Bus #9, parked beside the tennis courts at Pampa High School, waiting for Delbert to drive us to our drop off on Farley Street. Farley was the last street on the southwest side of Pampa and all the kids from Farley and Christy and Dwight used to walk over there to catch the bus in the morning. On the way home we always had our fingers crossed, hoping Delbert would drop off the "city" kids before the "country" kids. Dropping off the country kids first added what seemed like hours to our bus ride.
Mr. Blue Sky
It was probably one of the country kids that knew that phrase and said it out loud while we sat on the bus, watching big rain drops come down on a perfectly sunny day. If I had to guess I'd pick Regina Benyshek, but it could have been Leigh Barrett or Alicia Mahaney or Johnny Harper. I think the Burke's rode that bus, too and it sounds like something Merlie might have said. I asked my Dad if he had ever heard that saying and he said, "Sure. It means the devil is up there stoking the fire and heat in the sun, burning away the clouds and the rain that was prayed for, and the little rain that falls is his wife crying because while he's doing that he's beating her." Dad could have been full-of-bull, but it sounds reasonable in an old-timey-saying way.
Deep green and wet leaves
I was reminded of learning that phrase on this morning's walk. If you follow me on Instagram you know that my walk often includes photos of large, old trees around Overton Park in Fort Worth, Texas. It rained overnight, ending about 7AM. It was 7:30 before I made it to the park. The sun was out, and though it wasn't raining, under the trees I was getting wet. Rain was still running off the leaves to the point where you could hear the shower when you were under the trees in the shade. Through the trees I could see blue sky and a shining sun. It was such an odd experience, something a Texas Panhandle boy would have had little chance to experience what with the lack of trees and rain.
The Bridge - glowing
I remembered that phrase. I remembered today was Easter.
Look closely for the drips
I take a lot of pictures on my walks. I'm not necessarily a good photographer. I only use the camera on my phone. I walk nearly the same trail every day and I challenge myself to find something new, something unusual, some unique perspective that I haven't seen before, or that I think people might enjoy seeing.
It's more game than art, but it makes the walks more interesting and I find that it opens my eyes and ears. I also know that more often than not, my perceptions are drawn upward to the big trees, the colorful and changing sky, the birds ... the things above.
It must have been a cool rain, or maybe it was just because my feet were wet from walking in the grass, but there was a distinct temperature differential between where the sun was shining and where I walked in shade. The day would warm up, but walking the shady parts of the trail was like being there when the front blows through, or the thunderstorm outflow catches you, bringing that make-you-shiver rain.
Thinking about cold rain brought a song to mind, one from high school, a blues song, burned into my psyche from ZZ Top's "Rio Grande Mud" album ... "Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell." It's a straight-ahead-dead-sad-blues song, a distinct change of pace, and the longest song on that album. One of the lyrics is:
Somebody can you tell me what make a man feel this way?
Like river without its water, like night without a day.
And it sure 'nuff got cold after the rain fell,
not from the sky but from my eye.
Those "lines" are rain drops
I was well aware that today is Easter. The sun shining through the trees. The warmth overcoming the cold. The strange sensation of rain drops from the trees while the sun is shining. The sounds transitioning from busy, coarse street-side traffic to quiet, wet woods with raindrops. The overwhelming sensation of Spring and renewal. There weren't many people out and about, an unusual morning walk in many ways, and I selfishly enjoyed it alone, but felt compelled to share it here.
I took quite a few pictures today, and even a video!. I've included most of them here. I hope they convey something of what I was thinking and feeling on the walk which was essentially this:
It rains in everyone's life, sometimes even when the sun is shining. I can tell you what makes a man feel like a night without a day, but you don't have to stand in that deluge. You can find some sunshine. But know that even after the rain stops, sometimes a big, cold left over drop will catch you on the neck, make you shiver, and remind you of a bad, dark rain. Nothing you can do about that really. You could walk under an umbrella everywhere, but that blocks the sun, too. Best you can do is walk through the drips, appreciate what came with the rain, and look forward to finding some sunshine.
