Having grown up in Florida, where it hardly ever snows, I have often wondered what it was like to have "snow days." I have heard stories from my friends who grew up in more northern areas about waking up and listening to local radio broadcasts for their particular school to be listed as being closed for that day due to snow. It seems that snow was one of those strange meteorological events that was catastrophic enough to cancel school, yet not so devastating as to keep youngsters from going out and playing in it.
We never had any snow days while I was growing up, but there were many times when it would be raining. I don't remember it ever raining enough to actually cancel school, but it did often bring about a change in the normal routine. That was enough to be a bit of a treat for me. Anything out of the normal routine was enough to make for a special day. I remember wearing that rubberized yellow rain coat with the funny looking hood attached. You could put that hood over your head and you looked like you were ready for deep sea fishing expeditions in the North Atlantic. Another thing that was special about rainy mornings was that the school bus would actually drive up our considerably long driveway and pick us up right at the door. Being saved from that 42-mile long trek down our driveway to the road to wait for the school bus was always an event worthy of great anticipation.
Perhaps the best "change of pace" of all on rainy mornings was the fact that Mrs. Parker, my second grade teacher at Perry Elementary School (one of the sweetest creatures the good Lord ever made, by the way) would wheel the television set around so we could watch cartoons, since we could not stay out to play in the playground. There's just something about a Huckleberry Hound cartoon on a rainy morning that simply makes me smile.
It was raining this morning. In fact, it is raining now and is supposed to be raining for most of the day. No one came to pick me up at the door this morning. And there was not a Huckleberry Hound cartoon to be found this morning; only highlights from last night's political debate. Give me Huckleberry Hound any day over that. For some reason, rainy days just don't seem to hold the same kind of appeal as they once did.