Driving Home In Florida

It's June, and while the first part of the month....hot, hot, hot, no rain..... was not atypical for this part of Florida, as we close the month, the norm has arrived. It rains every afternoon.

I often marvel at the late afternoon rains (more like deluges) but nothing is stranger than being in a Florida city and realizing that one suburb is getting a monsoon while the next is still having bright sunshine.

Tonight, Florida rains held us in our offices for an hour. At 5:30, we hadn't followed the wise colleagues who had taken one look at the blackening sky and made for their cars quickly. Thus, as tropical, blinding rain began with what were almost night skies, we looked at each other and decided to wait it out indoors. After about 15 minutes, we doubted our wisdom as the heavy rain created a gushing river in the parking lot. Now, instead of getting clothes wet (even with umbrella, as the breeze was strong), we were faced with the thought that we'd be soaked to our knees if we tried to navigate the water on the ground.

Finally, finally, around 6:30, there was a break in the action and we made a run for it, still having difficulty crossing the 2" deep currents in parts of the parking lot. Damp, and in my car, I began to drive west. I live 12 miles from work. At mile marker 6, I could tell that the sky on the horizon was blue, and the area around me looked like it had had a little drizzle. As I reached home, I marveled at the fact that the roads and grass were bone dry, the sky blue, the sun beautiful and people were outdoors playing. Changeable Florida. Never ceases to amaze me.