I am from Oregon and being from Oregon means you have to like rain. A lot.
Oregon is an interesting state with a variety of climates from the high desert of central Oregon to the coastal mountain range and if you head far enough north you can even experience a rainforest.
I’m from a small town on the Columbia River called Hood River which boasts about 6 months of typical Oregon grey and 5 months of decent weather and 1 month of something else.
It wasn’t until I moved to Japan that I found out that Oregonians really do share some DNA with ducks. Have you heard that umbrellas are the most common item to be left on trains in Tokyo? I hadn’t either until I moved to Japan and went to Tokyo on a rainy day. Millions of umbrellas pop out of everyone’s bags the second a raindrop falls. I had never seen some many umbrellas in my life.
I don’t remember ever owning an umbrella growing up. I always enjoyed going outdoors and rain never really bothered me. It’s called liquid sunshine in Oregon. You just put on a raincoat, put up your hood, and head outside, no matter the weather.
When I take my kids to school on a rainy day I often get some funny looks from people as I don’t use an umbrella. People ask me if I forgot my umbrella or offer to let me borrow one, to which I simply reply, I am from Oregon and part duck, I like the rain. And most people just give me a kind of blank stare.
Today’s Bloganuary prompt was “Write a short story or poem about rain.”