Monday, June 04, 2007 Baumgart: Rainwear By Elisabeth Baumgart inkblots
MOTHER Nature sure knows how to be a drama queen.
As summer vacation finally draws to a close, she gives us a tearful goodbye to all the sun kissed memories we had with her in the past two months. And mind you, these aren’t just simple tears–they come down bucketsful!
But then again, summer cannot end more beautifully than through a heavy downpour during a dreary afternoon.
Ah, the beauty of nature.
Now that the sun’s rays can barely peek through the huge rain clouds, we now trade in our swimsuits and flashy summer wear for something more waterproof and warm.
A raincoat has never been a favorite rainwear of mine. Especially if it’s anything close to the color orange or yellow–it just makes us all look like walking traffic cones.
But if we all recall our childhood, I’m sure everyone wore that stuffy plastic contraption at one point in our rucksack hauling days.
The raincoat was the in thing ages ago. Umbrellas were just too much of a hassle. Why carry some weird portable roof when one can just wear a plastic jacket with a hoodie?
I now have this odd feeling that there was a conspiracy against the poor umbrella.
Umbrellas are the most misunderstood accessory in the entire world. We buy them, but we rarely bring them with us.
“They’re just too much of a hassle to lug along,” you say.
It’s not like we are asking you to carry with you a rock that weighs 3 kilograms wherever you go. An umbrella weighs even less than your average 500-page medicine book.
Now tell me, what’s more of a hassle? Bringing an umbrella or getting stuck under a heavy downpour with nowhere to run and hide?
Sure, if you’re like me and like walking under the rain sometimes, there’s no problem. But there’s just so much your immune system can take before it collapses and you find yourself down with the flu next to a mountain of used tissue.
Umbrellas are fun little things. We own a myriad of umbrellas at home, some of which have the ugliest designs. And this is rather embarrassing to admit, but I do own a Hello Kitty umbrella. Why I own one, i don't know.
One of the best pre-teen memories I have took place under an umbrella. It's fun to remember how my three friends and I would try to huddle under one average sized umbrella during a heavy downpour (which is practically impossible) or how a heavy updraft turns your umbrella inside out, leaving you soaked to the bone and laughing in the rain.
And with the rainy season knocking on our door, it’s time we create new memories under the rain–with a bunch of friends huddled under that umbrella, which is most likely hidden under your bed or in the storage room, as we speak.
