Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Rain, Rain Don't Go Away

My students, both past and present, seem convinced that I have either supernatural powers or that I've made some special arrangement with God, referring directly to the fact that if I have to be in school, it is going to rain.  This is not limited to the students in my present college either.  Students in the other colleges I have taught at believed the same thing, although they also added in snow and thunder and lightening to the mix. 

You know how a joke may be funny the first few times that you hear it, but starts to get really old and not funny around the 458,925th time that you hear it? 

I've tried to get this particular joke to go away, but it keeps showing up.  Desperate for a way to get rid of it, I spent a bit of time this morning developing a "quiz" that the next class that brings up rain and me in the same sentence will get.  Only about 57 questions asking students to list and discuss the benefits of rain for NY.  They will need to give acceptable sources for their answers, and at least 10 of the answers must come from Tanach.  And when they ask, yes I will count the quiz.

Sure, rain can get messy and it may not be a lot of fun to take a shower with your clothes on as you try to get to wherever you need to go.  But that rain we've been having has done wonders for the levels in our reservoirs, so if you can take a nice long hot shower without being under water restrictions, thank the rain.  And the sidewalks in NY are nice and clean for a change, again thanks to the rain.  And the birds are thrilled with their bonanza of plump and juicy worms, thanks to the rain.  And no one has to worry that their lawn is turning brown or that their plants and trees look scrawny, all thanks to the rain.  And this rain just could turn out to be a bit of a money saver as well.  If the NY and NJ farms get plenty of rain then their crops will grow well and be plentiful, and just maybe prices will be lower this summer.

So no, I'm not causing it to rain this week or any week for that matter.  But we should all be thankful that we are getting the rain instead of the alternatives.  Is there anyone who really, truly prefers shoveling snow and getting frost bitten to getting a little wet?

And we might also keep in mind that there are plenty of places on earth that are suffering from lack of rain and which would welcome our rain with open joy and pleasure.

3 comments:

tesyaa said...

Isn't it good to be (indoors) at work on a rainy day, and enjoying the sunshine on your day off? Or am I missing something?

efrex said...

If memory serves, Israelis use the expression gishmei bracha to express the hope that the rain will help out, even if it causes them inconvenience. Wish there were some equivalent expression in English, or at least that the Anglo Jewish community would adopt the original.

Of course, heavy rains also bring up the opportunity to remind some ignorant souls of Bill Cosby's "Noah: right!" routine...

Sparrow said...

Rain is awesome this year! We didn't get nearly enogh snow.