好大的雨！那種能把青蛙卷上天的暴風雨！(聽說有的地方的天氣是能把青蛙卷上天，
然後再下青蛙雨的。並參見Tom Cruise的電影“Magnolia”。)

不過雨倒也沒那麼大，至少那種個子大的牛蛙是卷不上去的。它們正躲在家裡，加
固着荷葉，支撐起蘆葦，把雨水接來換成新洗澡水。那些小青蛙可能就沒這麼走運，
誰叫它們平時愛呱呱叫着抱怨生活象一堆爛泥塘呢。

因為我把車拿去修了，所以在這種雨天裡我得走上六個街口去等公車。

當你知道你不管怎樣都得被雨淋時，心情就會再輕鬆不過了。你不會生氣，也不會
徒勞地躲着開始的那幾滴雨。特別是如果你剛上完aerobics課，就更好了，連跑的
力氣都沒有。其實我根本不想動，只是不得不掙扎着，因為有成千的事情在等着我
回去辦。

在等車的時候我看見一隻老鼠。也許是雨的緣故吧，我有種和它同病相憐的感覺，
覺得它倒也不那麼討厭。那是只小小的，灰色的，光滑的小東西，看起來很能幹。
其實，細想之下老鼠也並不是那麼討厭。這個世界從來沒有因為老鼠而滅亡。當然，
如果你是農夫，儲着一大倉米，或是對鼠疫極端恐慌的話，我可以理解。不過我不
會被老鼠嚇得跳上椅子。那隻老鼠唯一讓人起雞皮的地方，只不過是蹲在那裡，慢
慢地嚼着什麼東西。很奇怪的，在朦朧的雨中看過去，它看起來很象人。當然它還
是灰灰的，小小的，帶着一層皮毛的東西，但它就象個小老頭，彎着腰，慢慢地咀
嚼着。我想起了我們人類和老鼠，在世界萬物之初都同是單細胞的amoebas。

在回家的路上我去了一家連鎖快餐店。我實在太餓了。

在店裡打工的那個人說，“怎麼，你沒帶雨傘嗎？”

我對着一大排烤雞，開心地說“我的雨傘找不到啦！”(看到這麼多香噴噴的烤雞，
不開心也難)。他把手伸到玻璃櫃檯後，拿出一把雨傘：歡快的紅色，好象在說“雨
下不到我頭上，啦~~”。雖然看起來有點俗氣，但在這種雨天什麼都比沒有好。

他說，“哪，把這拿去吧。有人很久前丟下的。”他的慷慨讓我愣了一下，才猶豫
地去接。

我說，“謝謝。顏色這麼好看。”

“是啊，是女孩的顏色，適合你。”

“而且是中國人吉祥的顏色。”我熱心地告訴他。

我一向喜歡這個店員。他常微笑着，起勁地干着活，好象在對全世界說，雖然我是
新移民，在一家廉價快餐店翻烤着漢堡肉餅，我也一樣能幹得有尊嚴，有氣質。

現在他這麼好心地給了我一把紅雨傘，我更喜歡他了。

我走出店門，和我的新雨傘一起哼起BJ Thomas 的“Raindrops Keep Falling on
My Head”：

“
。。。
Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red.
Crying's not for me, cause
I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining
Because I'm free
Nothing's worrying me
。。。
”

A Day in the Rain
It was frog weather!
Well, not bullfrog weather. The big green guys were all at home reinforcing their lily pads, shoring up their reeds, making sure they’d have clean soaking water, etc. It was weather for the hapless little ones, who hopped around croaking about the whole world being their mud puddle.
And I was out in it for a whole six blocks, walking to the bus stop ‘cause my car was in the shop.
There’s something very liberating about knowing that you're going to be soaked. It motivates you not to spend useless energy trying to fume or dodge those initial drops. It helps if you've just come from an aerobics classes, particularly if that aerobics class is from Ms. Kips, because you will at any rate be too tired to dodge. You will basically be too tired to even move, but this will not stop you, because you have a research group meeting and a million other things waiting for you to get back.
While I was waiting for the bus I saw a rat. Maybe the rain bonded us in a sort of strange camaraderie way. I was beginning to think the furry thing was actually not that unappealing. It was small and sleek and grey and very good at what it did. To be fair, rats aren't repulsive if you really think about it. The world has never been in danger of being overrun by rats, or blown up or polluted or made inhabitable in any sense. I could understand animosity if you were a farmer and had a grain silo, or if you had a strong fear of the bubonic plague, but as for me, I don't see why I should have to stand on a chair. The only creepy thing it did, really, was to stoop and nibble at a bit of...something...on the tracks. And this was only creepy because just for a moment, through a rain-soaked film, it looked very oddly human. I mean, it was still grey and tiny and covered with fur, but somehow it reminded me of a little old man, bending over and nibbling. It rang some very old bell in me that resonated all the way back to our shared history as single-cell amoebas on the up-and-coming.
I stopped by a fast food chain on my way home. What can I say? I was hungry. The man who worked there asked, "You don't have an umbrella?"
"Couldn’t find it." I replied cheerfully (hard not to sound cheerful when you're faced with rows of savory fried chicken). Reaching under the counter behind the glass, he pulled out an umbrella: a sprightly red thing, a little on the cheesy side, but not something I would mind seeing over my head in this downpour. "No raindrops falling on MY head," it seemed to be singing cheerily.
"Here. Take this. Someone left it behind, long time ago." he nodded. I reached for it hesitantly, surprised at his generosity.
"Thank you! It’s such a nice color, too."
He nodded again. "It’s good for you, a female color."
"It’s a lucky color for Chinese," I added, ever the helpful informant.
I have always liked that man because he wears a heart-warming smile and also because he packs up food with a sort of energy that suggests that he may be a new immigrant flipping burgers in a crappy fast food chain, but gosh darn it he is going to be one with style. And now I will also like him because he gave me a red umbrella.
I walked out the door, humming with my newly found umbrella.
“…
Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red.
Crying's not for me, cause
I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining
Because I'm free
Nothing's worrying me
…
“