I Am Thankful For Rainy And Overcast Days

Most people don't seem to like rainy or overcast days, but I do. I actually prefer them to sunny days most times. I don't want to get caught in the rain if it's freezing outside or if I'm on my way someplace where I won't be able to change into dry clothes at the end, but if I'm on my way home, I'm ok with getting wet (as long as I'm wearing more than a T-shirt!)

Every now and then there's a bunch of dark or rainy days in a row and people start talking about how depressed they feel or how stir crazy they're getting, but I don't ever feel that way from rainy or overcast days. I like them. And there's something immensely comforting to me about rain. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the ions in the air or something. Who knows. But on an overcast day I just feel better.

(...And rain makes the flowers grow and cleans out pollen and breaks heat waves and all that stuff too!)

The Bracelet

ME

What's that on your keychain?

HER

What?

ME

That pink rubber thing.

HER

Oh, they were giving these away at the hospital for free. It's one of those bracelets for breast cancer.

ME
(inspecting the bracelet)

It doesn't say that.

HER

Doesn't say what?

ME

That it has anything to do with breast cancer.

HER

What does it say?

ME

The name of a lab. It's an advertisement for the name of the lab. There's nothing on here about fighting breast cancer.

HER

Well it was free. And it's pink.

ME

Oh well you should definitely keep it then.

I Am Thankful For Taxis

Do you ever stop to think about how convenient it is to have Taxis available to you, and what's really going on when you use one? I do (but this shouldn't surprise you by now!)

Basically, what happens, is that you need to get someplace and you need a ride. So you go out into the street and look for someone who can give you that ride, and when you find someone who's available you more or less say "Hey could you please do me a favor and give me a ride to this place? I'll pay you for it." and then the complete and total stranger whose car you've stopped says "Sure! Hop in!" Not only that, but you get really lucky, because the ride you get just happens to be from someone who knows where EVERYTHING is! Even when you may not be sure how to get to your destination! (What are the odds? ;) )

Then when you're done, do you know what that total stranger who gave you the ride does? They drive around the city looking for more people who might need a ride somewhere. Because that's just the kind of nice and helpful person he or she is.

How many other people do you think would happily give you a ride anyplace you asked, (paid or unpaid), any time, day or night, with absolutely no advanced notice, and no questions asked? How many people would say "Sure, I was just driving around looking to see if someone might need a ride somewhere anyway, so yeah, no problem. I'll take you."

I am really thankful for Taxis.

Public Service Announcement: Fall Attire

Photo courtesy of newoldthing

A friend and I were talking about how beautiful the trees were in the parks yesterday. I had walked home through Central Park and she through Riverside Park. I told her how picturesque the view had been and how even the people fit perfectly into the landscape, as if they were floating through a serene painting, because every single person in the park had matched. They were all wearing black -As was I!

My friend said she'd had the exact opposite experience. She said she saw a family with a mother wearing a very nice plumb colored brocade coat, a daughter wearing a hot pink parka, and a father sporting another parka in a blindingly bright teal. According to her they were totally clashing with the landscape (and each other) and ruining her view.

So, on behalf of my friend, I would like to request that everyone please think before venturing outward into the beautiful fall surroundings, and plan your wardrobe accordingly. Please try your best to wear colors that compliment the landscape and any people you are with, so that you may contribute, and not detract from the aesthetic experience of park goers around you. ^{1, 2}

1. If you live someplace where doing this might cause you to be mistaken for a deer, a lovely fluorescent orange will do fine.

2. Since this blog is relatively new, it may take some time for this PSA to reach the masses. With this in mind, anyone with a heightened sensitivity to wardrobe/park clashes is strongly advised to purchase a pair of amber sunglasses until such time as this situation is resolved.

That is all.

I Am Thankful I Saw The Leaves In Central Park

I am thankful I had a chance to walk through Central Park yesterday and see its beautiful fall foliage. I normally walk in a different park because it's a little closer to my home (not much but a little.)

I am also thankful that I managed to escape my friend's "tragically unsettling" experience ;) (See today's PSA for more info.)

I Am Thankful I Can Rhyme

I am thankful I can rhyme,
I used to do it all the time,
for songs and poems, jingles too,
I could rhyme "glue" with "shoe" and you!

I'm thankful I don't do this now,
but if I must, I still know how.
What good's a skill like this you say?
Well, it fulfilled my post today :)

I Am Thankful For The Body's Ability To Physically Heal

I've always been amazed at the regenerative properties of the human body. Most people never give a second thought to scratches, cuts, bruises, or broken bones, because they expect them to heal 100%. And most of the time they do. Very often, many crippling and disfiguring injuries also mend completely, as if they'd never happened.

Think about it: What if your body didn't have the ability to heal? What if a broken bone, whether it was your leg or a finger, would always be broken? What if every cut or scratch you ever had, large or small, never healed (ok the bleeding could stop but beyond that I mean!) What if once you tore or pulled a muscle or ligament, that's how it was going to be forever?

We are all extremely lucky. Not just because our own bodies do this, but also because the bodies of people we love and care about often have this same amazing regenerative ability. It's true that not everything heals 100%, but many things do, and that's miraculous to me.

A scene from the comedy Death Becomes Her
where the characters learn that "immortality"
doesn't mean "can't sustain permanent injury."