Thursday, January 26, 2006
Rain Clouds over the Malahat
Light rain is falling. The forecast is for showers the next four days. In recent weeks the forecasts for San Francisco Peninsula have been mostly accurate. I went out for a run last evening and saw clouds gathering over the foothills. For some odd reason, I thought of Victoria, BC. I was visiting British Columbia one summer many years ago. Strolling through downtown Victoria I found an empty bench across from a large department store and decided to spend some time people watching. Soon I had company. A man sat down next to me and said "Good afternoon". Looked like a street person but didn't hit me for a quarter. He didn't have a shopping cart full of personal belongings. You don't see them in Canada.....not yet. That might change as Stephen Harper begins Bushification of Canada. There was a coffee shop a few steps away. I bought two cups and offered my neighbor one. He smiled and lifted the paper cup. A few minutes later he stood up and said "See the clouds over the Malahat ? It is going to rain." He disappeared among the crowd of shoppers. That evening the rains came.