Last night was one of my nicest commutes in a while, in an odd sort of way. I had an appointment downtown until 9 o'clock, and when I came out, in was raining steadily. Fortunately, it was not very cold, and I had my high-visibility flourescent jacket, light-colored slacks, bright Rover headlight, and two taillight blinkes, one under my saddle and the other clipped to the back of my waist, so I wasn't too worried. Although I did get sopping wet, I was not cold, and the smells were interesting, a very damp froggy/fishy smell. Further, there was not much traffic, which was good because the roads were that shiny wet surface that just seems to eat light. I also tried a different way home, which worked out very well. It was very rewarding that despite the weather, which to the uninitiated might make it appear that I was crazy, I felt the whole time like I was very much in control of the situation. Nothing unexpected happened, and all the motorist encounters were fine. So overall it gave me a nice feeling of self-confidence, as well as reminding me that I was a part of nature and rain happens.

When I got home, my wife was fortuititously standing at the back door calling the cat in, having heard him meowing upon my arrival, so she was able to get me a towel and collect my wet clothes as I removed them on the back porch. I expressed a desire for some strong drink, and she offered to make me a martini! So I said I guess I'll just go upstairs and put on my bathrobe and slippers while my wife brings me a martini, and it occurred to both of us that the only thing lacking was if I smoked a pipe, which I don't! So that was kind of a nice cozy homey situation. A nice night.