Rain Drizzle Rain Pour

Clouds came in like ghouls. They had a plan. Everyone's running for cover and cars and trees, even though lightning, and I'm telling this to people, lightning gets attracted to trees. Nobody listens to me. I'm standing out in the open though, enjoying my beer. What's a little rain? Sure enough it lets up in due time. People reverse their retreat, tails between their legs, getting everything back out. This is what I don't understand about the masses. So tables get recovered, food gets redistributed, bottles and cans go crack and fizz. It's a light misting but of course people don't seem to mind this. This is refreshing, not like that hooligan shit from five minutes ago. People are talking about their kids and their jobs and their schools and their activities that happen after school. They're talking about fish, about weekends, about grandparents and upcoming holidays. Then sleeves and trousers, they start getting spotted. And that's when the rain comes back. Just as before. But, lo and behold, nobody moves this time. They start laughing a little even. No rain is gonna make these people crawl back into their hovels, no sir, not this time, not if it's just gonna lessen up. I crack another one of my own beers, I like 'em good and strong. There's a cooler with two dozen of 'em, and when I take this one out that makes it blackjack. Looking around here, at people getting wet, people getting wetter, seemingly happy still, enjoying their weather. Enjoying their goddamn stories. Just took one lesson. But this rain, now, this rain had other ideas, it was here to stay. It was going to make an impression. Everyone looked darker now, goddamn sponges, wringing each other out, laughing. And whatever that next boom of thunder did it did it well, because sheets now, buckets. And people are just out there, laughing, dancing in the street and jumping in puddles and suddenly everyone's the same age. I dumped those twenty-one beers onto the street, and as I closed my door I thought I heard, "No, don't know who that was." But maybe I got water in my ears.