Walking in the Rain

This weekend my girls' team is in a tournament. We tied last night, and right before today's game, the wind kicked up and cold hard rain poured down. Initially we were told there would be a 30 minutes delay, but the rain didn't let up a bit. At 1:00, instead of a game, we went straight to penalty kicks, and lost 3-2.

Everyone went home wet and freezing.

That result of the game was not a bad, because the opposing team probably would have beaten us by more than that in a regular game. They've beaten us 2-0 twice this year. But I needed to know the result of the 5:00 game so I'd know if we took second or third in our bracket, since the games take place at different times.

Nothing on the website. I called the only phone number listed on the tournament page, and got a message machine. Geneen had taken our truck to work, about a kilometer away at the Park Mall, so I decided to walk to Golf Links Park, some 3 km away, to learn the score so I could notify the players' families.

Before I'd walked very far, drops began to fall again, but there were several encouraging blue pockets in the early evening sky, so I continued. I haven't walked much lately, and it felt good. By the time I was almost halfway there, the rain was coming down pretty hard, and for the second time today, I was soaked.

But the interesting thing is this: walking through this neighborhood is extremely quiet. There are people all around, inside their houses and cars, but the only sounds you hear are the hums of machines.

And not a single car stops to ask if you want a ride. And we all sympathize with that behavior. Who would want a wet person in their car? Who would dare to pick up a stranger in this day and age? Let's just mind our own business and not think, not get involved, not take any risks.

Soon I got accustomed to the rain and stopped noticing it, just as I am again becoming accustomed to ignoring strangers.