Rain

This week, Los Angeles got our second substantial rainfall of the season (October thru March).  I welcome it.

When I was a child, we lived four blocks from my grandparents' house, which was also just across the trolley tracks from my grade school, Oakmont Elementary.  My dad was away in the navy during WWII, and I spent a lot of time at my grandparents, especially right after school.  My cousin Ada (10 months older) was there, and we had a lot of fun times.

My grandparents' house had an enclosed front porch with a tin roof.  Especially in the summer, when it rained, I loved the sound of the rain on that roof.  We sat under the roof, safe and dry, and played Monopoly, Canasta, Jacks, PickUpSticks, and so forth.

The trolley tracks were built with rain gutters on both side.  When it would rain hard, these would fill up with rushing water, and we would walk in them barefoot.  This was about as close as we got to a swimming pool in our neighborhood.

At our house during the summer, when it was hot and humid, we would open all the doors and windows to let whatever breeze there was come thru.  (No A/C in those days.)  Often, when a storm came, it would start with gusty winds and the sky getting darker.  The winds would rattle the screen doors and windows.  Then the rain would come.

Upstairs there was a third bedroom, which was kind of used like a den.  It had a radio sitting on the desk, that had stopped running some time ago.  Still plugged in, still "turned on", though no sounds came out.  One summer thunderstorm, after a close bolt of lightning, the radio magically began playing again!

I have always loved being out in the rain.  Walking with an umbrella.  Driving in the car with the "swish-swish" of the windshield wipers.  Seeing the reflections of the lights in the street at night.  Watching the water running down the side of the curb into the storm drains.

LA's rainy season is about done for another year.

Why Buddhism Is True

Just finished reading "Why Buddhism Is True" by Robert Wright.  Suggested to me by cousin Bruce Linton, and I am so glad he did.  This book investigates the workings of our human minds from a standpoint of evolutionary psychology, and illuminates how many of our basic tendencies of mind, evolved over millennia, are often counterproductive in our current cultural situation (no longer hunter-gatherers or agriculturists living in small groups).  He argues that some of the basic tenets of Buddhism correlate to some findings of modern science, and that these insights can be used, through meditative practices, towards more acceptance of others, gratefulness, loving-kindness, and happiness in our lives.  Not just theory, but many anecdotes from the author's personal experiences, and the writings and thinking of others in the field.  Several times I found myself realizing: "I never thought about it this way before.  He's right!"  (No pun intended).  The book is both scientific and philosophical, without being theological.  If you are meditating, or want to consider it for your future, I strongly recommend this book.