好大的雨！那种能把青蛙卷上天的暴风雨！(听说有的地方的天气是能把青蛙卷上天，
然后再下青蛙雨的。并参见Tom Cruise的电影“Magnolia”。)

不过雨倒也没那么大，至少那种个子大的牛蛙是卷不上去的。它们正躲在家里，加
固着荷叶，支撑起芦苇，把雨水接来换成新洗澡水。那些小青蛙可能就没这么走运，
谁叫它们平时爱呱呱叫着抱怨生活象一堆烂泥塘呢。

因为我把车拿去修了，所以在这种雨天里我得走上六个街口去等公车。

当你知道你不管怎样都得被雨淋时，心情就会再轻松不过了。你不会生气，也不会
徒劳地躲着开始的那几滴雨。特别是如果你刚上完aerobics课，就更好了，连跑的
力气都没有。其实我根本不想动，只是不得不挣扎着，因为有成千的事情在等着我
回去办。

在等车的时候我看见一只老鼠。也许是雨的缘故吧，我有种和它同病相怜的感觉，
觉得它倒也不那么讨厌。那是只小小的，灰色的，光滑的小东西，看起来很能干。
其实，细想之下老鼠也并不是那么讨厌。这个世界从来没有因为老鼠而灭亡。当然，
如果你是农夫，储着一大仓米，或是对鼠疫极端恐慌的话，我可以理解。不过我不
会被老鼠吓得跳上椅子。那只老鼠唯一让人起鸡皮的地方，只不过是蹲在那里，慢
慢地嚼着什么东西。很奇怪的，在朦胧的雨中看过去，它看起来很象人。当然它还
是灰灰的，小小的，带着一层皮毛的东西，但它就象个小老头，弯着腰，慢慢地咀
嚼着。我想起了我们人类和老鼠，在世界万物之初都同是单细胞的amoebas。

在回家的路上我去了一家连锁快餐店。我实在太饿了。

在店里打工的那个人说，“怎么，你没带雨伞吗？”

我对着一大排烤鸡，开心地说“我的雨伞找不到啦！”(看到这么多香喷喷的烤鸡，
不开心也难)。他把手伸到玻璃柜台后，拿出一把雨伞：欢快的红色，好象在说“雨
下不到我头上，啦~~”。虽然看起来有点俗气，但在这种雨天什么都比没有好。

他说，“哪，把这拿去吧。有人很久前丢下的。”他的慷慨让我愣了一下，才犹豫
地去接。

我说，“谢谢。颜色这么好看。”

“是啊，是女孩的颜色，适合你。”

“而且是中国人吉祥的颜色。”我热心地告诉他。

我一向喜欢这个店员。他常微笑着，起劲地干着活，好象在对全世界说，虽然我是
新移民，在一家廉价快餐店翻烤着汉堡肉饼，我也一样能干得有尊严，有气质。

现在他这么好心地给了我一把红雨伞，我更喜欢他了。

我走出店门，和我的新雨伞一起哼起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
…
“