Rain At Last

What a wonderful sound it was to hear rain on the roof all Monday night!  A gentle, sustained rain, just the kind we needed.  Tuesday it cleared off for the day, but then today a second wave came through, off and on, gently at times but at other times absolutely pouring.  And there is more rain (or snow!) coming Sunday and into next week.  It seems as if the great weather patterns which determine our daily weather, the jet streams and the high- and low-pressure areas, are finally converging into a period of prolonged rain and snow.

I had one of those perfect runs this morning, getting started a little after 9:00 a.m. before the rain came.  The streets were still wet from Monday, the temperatures warm, and after a mile, I decided there was no reason not to run fast.  So I turned in a 9:38 mile, and then a third mile pulling hills as hard as I could.  Might as well make a hard day as hard as I can, I thought, especially since most of the stiffness from these nagging injuries seems to be at bay for now.  I glanced at the sky and thought, it still isn't raining, why not go an extra mile?  I did, and finished up sore quads but that wonderful feeling of having done one's best.  I stretched, got in the car, and almost immediately it started to rain, and rain pretty hard.  Perfect timing!

I only hope that this same rain is also drenching the Great Smoky Mountains, where it is so badly needed.  14,000 evacuated from Gatlinburg, four dead, and many building damaged.  Douse those flames, O Lord!  For the same devastation could so easily happen here. 

"Drip down, O heavens, from above, 

And let the clouds pour down righteousness; 

Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, 

And righteousness spring up with it. 

I, the LORD, have created it."  

Isaiah 45:8

Thanksgiving

Running was easier this week because cool northerly winds kept most of the smoke from wildfires out of Town.  So Monday I was able to run six miles, mostly with Fred - he was doing some road intervals and I arrived just in time to join him - and today I ran six miles, mostly with Vicki.  Running with friends makes the journey easier, a little maxim that applies to more than just running.

And just in time for Thanksgiving, the weather forecast is suggesting a 30% chance of showers.  Wouldn't that be a cause for genuine thankfulness, if it actually materialized overnight?  Our parched land is so thirsty that even a few drops would be welcome. There is a better chance next Tuesday, and we patiently watch the progress of low pressure systems making their way across the nation, hoping that the moisture will not dissipate before it arrives as it has so frequently this month.

Tomorrow is a time for giving thanks, and despite this being a year of great loss - the death of Martha's Dad, other losses close and hard to bear, and perhaps even the loss of progressive government in these dark, parched times - we continue to remain hopeful and to give thanks.  Martha read about a wonderful idea this year:  a "gourd of gratitude" in the center of our table, a pumpkin on which we wrote all the things for which we are thankful.  "Rain" found its way on our little gourd, and "friends," and "running" (since this blog is ostensibly about running, after all), and so much more that we quickly ran out of room.

That's how it should always be, after all.  There should be so much thankfulness in our hearts that it overflows, so that there is not room enough for it all to fit, on little pumpkins or in little blogs.

Wildfires Surrounding Us

My friend Anthony took this photo of Germany Valley, clear as it should be in November on top, and under it the current view obscured by smoke from all of the wildfires surrounding us.

These are indeed frightening times!  We have just elected a completely unqualified and truly disturbing man as President of this nation.  And each day the long drought continues, as if it echoes the drought of reason and civility in our times.  It has not rained in a very long time, and the leaves are like tinder, crinkled and completely dry, waiting for the arsonist's match.  Because that is who has been causing the many fires all around us:  an arsonist, spotted here and there lighting these many wildfires.  Yesterday he tried to burn the mighty Bob Padgett Poplar Tree in Horse Cove, but fortunately they were able to put the fire out.  Who would do such a thing? 

We owe our firefighters a debt of gratitude as they have struggled to contain fires in Cliffside, Whitewater Falls, Lake Lure, and Warwoman Dell only 10 miles or so from our house, in rugged terrain.  The smoke blows over the mountains and it is hard to tell where it is coming from - one day it will be clear down here in Clear Creek and smoky in Highlands, and the other day just the opposite.  Running and hiking are risky in this unhealthy air, so we wait for relatively smoke-free air and get on the road when we can.  Last week I drove out to Zachary Hospital to get in a short run because it was so thick in Town.  On the satellite map it is truly a shocking sight.

So we continue to pray for rain, and for reason, and for the good that we have to believe lies in most of our hearts despite the hatred, racism, and bigotry.