Rainy Days

The weather was extremely spontaneous today. It poured for about thirty seconds this morning, and then again for half an hour this afternoon. Despite such unusual cloudbursts, it was actually an extremely plesant day. The overhanging storm clouds kept the sultry heat at bay, and the little rain there was gave the whole city that refreshing aroma of rain-soaked earth. I got to experience all the benefits of rain without actually getting wet. I wouldn't have minded it if I had, though. This year it started to rain on my birthday, at a time when a friend and I were without occupation at the high school. There wasn't much going on inside, so we went out. We spent about an hour a-singin' in the rain. And dancing. And puddle jumping. We got completely soaked, but our mothers will be comforted to know that neither of us ended up with so much as a cough in the following days.

Last night in my astronomy class I got to experience a scientific phenomenon that I had only ever seen on posters or in blackboard drawings - viewing the spectra of individual elements. I won't bore you with details, because it would take up more of your time than you probably are willing to devote to a single blog - suffice to say that being able to see it for my own eyes was a miracle for me.

But the detail I wanted to share about the experiment is that it involved looking through a little slide called a defraction grating, which bends white light into its full color spectrum. I was quite facinated by this little piece of cardboard and plastic, so my professor said I could keep it. I've been staring through it at every light I pass since then. That was the piece of magic I wanted to tell you about. There are so many rainbows in this world! Countless rainbows, everywhere - all hiding in the light we live in every day. It was amazing to get a glimpse of a few of them.

I have a suggestion for everyone today. Next time you are out in the world, walk up to a complete stranger and pay them a compliment. See what happens. It may be that you just made a world of difference without even knowing it. And if that isn't magical, I don't know what is.

Au Revior! 'Til next time...