I Never Cease to Be Amazed

Autumn in the Pacific Northwest can be soggy, but not this season. Here we are at the end of October, and it feels more like October in the Southeast. Sun, that rare commodity in our corner of the world, has stuck around for several glorious days. As I ride the bus to work in the mornings, I hear people sitting around me sigh as we all contemplate the view from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. This is why we live here, we tell ourselves, and each other, and anyone who visits here when the rain has settled in for the winter. "Oh, but you should see it when it's sunny. It's why we live here!" And the visitors nod their heads sagely--"Oh, sure"--as the rain comes down in buckets, or in a fine mist, or somewhere inbetween. But we know that the rain keeps it green here. And that's okay. I can live with that. Just wait until March, when it's been raining for a month straight, with at least two more months of rain to look forward to. Just wait. The people on the bus will sigh and say, "Two more months. And look how green it is!"