Rain

When I got up this morning in the dark I looked out and saw probably the most ass-kicking thunderstorm I’ve seen in years somewhere out over the Persian Gulf. It was one of those Christmas-tree like boomers—the ones that just never stop flashing. It was pretty ominous, especially out here in the desert. The wind was blowing pretty good and the temperature had dropped significantly. By lunchtime I saw something that haven’t seen here before.

Rain.

The last time I saw rain was riding my Harley home from work for the last time before I left. I had managed to go for four months without getting a drop on me but Mother Nature took all four months worth out on me at once. That was September 10^th. Today is November 18^th. 69 days without seeing a drop. I’m fairly certain that’s a record for me. The rain that finally came down here today was more of a mist than a rain, but it was big enough to leave small craters in the sand everywhere. From what I understand the rains here create a lot of havoc on the base. Since it never rains, people get pretty used to it. There’s posters outside, cracks in the buildings, some places even have gym equipment set up outside. You would think that if it rained pretty well here, it would just run-off or sink in like it does in Texas. Nope. It sinks about an inch below the surface, creating the nastiest mud and muck. This in turn gets tracked everywhere, especially inside. The cracks in the buildings that usually no one cares about suddenly become a major issue.

Sounds like another great argument for Gatorade bottle use.

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