It is difficult—sometimes—to remember that our lives are indeed governed by Other People. These people are responsible for everything around us. The world we live in is controlled and manipulated and micromanaged down to the last cent of your paycheck. You cannot Escape.
Except—maybe there is an outlet. Maybe there is something that these Important People cannot control. Maybe it’s Who We Are. And who we are circumvents any political power move, any Senatorial or Congress aspirations. We are The People and we can Decide how our lives are lived Every Fucking Day.
That is The Truth.
In the midst of the pouring rain Wednesday I went wandering around a wet weary Wilmington. It’s so very strange—wet Wilmington, that is—to see this city that I love so much transform itself back to the form that I always see in my mind. There are no city officials making city decisions. No–It’s a city of peace, a city of calm, a hometown kind of place where you might sit outside a café or a deli and have a cold beer with an old friend.
The dry Wilmington cries hatred and anger and impatience. It is a city full of Immediate Places to be and absolute No Time for Nonsense. The city before the rain is a city that has forgotten what people want from the City by the Sea. They want comfort and happiness. The residents need a slow drive through town at a leisurely pace—not a panic filled swearathon that is 5:00 traffic or anytime traffic on the weekend.
Wet Wilmington exists in an alternate universe. The presence of said city only presents itself when there is a torrential downpour. It cannot come out to play much like young kids that have been grounded and forced to remain inside even though the weather is nice. It has to wait until the time is Right and the time is only when the gutters of South College have begun to back up and the street is half full of dirty rain water. Mayor Saffo—if you can bring that kind of peace to Wilmington On Demand—then you are angelical and deserve to be told so. But I know that you cannot because you are not and since you are not you Will Not and Wilmington will continue to rot from the inside until the pathetic superficial shell fades away.
But as far as the rain goes?
It’s cleansing.
I rode down South College and then to Historic downtown and realized how much I love this city. So much hate for so much bullshit—the traffic, the impatience, the heat, the never ending influx of tourist—that is completely negated when it rains.
It’s kinda nice.
