Umbrella Tops Pop Up Over Vancouver

RAIN POURED down relentlessly in Vancouver when I went there to the Eye Care Centre. Reports say that the current soggy weather is due to what is euphemistically called the Pineapple Express, a stream of moisture traveling (as if from a sprinkler hose) to the West Coast of BC from faraway Hawaiian shores. While waiting for an appointment I took some blurred photos of people quickly passing by. Umbrellas were popping up everywhere.

Two Canadian geese on an umbrella shaped roof got a bird's eye view of the scene. Water rolled down their feathery backs but they didn't seem to get wet. I envied their perspective because the sights I wanted to capture were a fair distance away across a busy street filled with obstacles.

This woman dashing to a car didn't have an umbrella but most did.

Umbrellas hovered over slick streets like discs from outer space.

They spun, swayed and bobbed amid the traffic ...

and splashed blue skies onto the gray day.

Some sprang up like wildflowers.

Others looked like spiraling gates with bars to keep the rain out.

Many were faded black while others flew open in a burst of color.

Some floated behind hedges in a dreamy display.

A few were broken.

Some showed how green it can get in BC thanks to the rain.

Umbrellas were most often held loosely over shoulders and heads ...

some lined up in military fashion along watery roads.

Several people huddled in hooded jackets with no umbrella in hand.

This umbrella brushed a rainbow across some glass when it passed.

Once inside I saw umbrellas folded, flopped down and squeezed into corners like discarded mops. I admit rain can ruin a nice hairdo and get your clothes sopping wet. But isn't it odd that no one was running about with childish glee saying yippee to the drops? Nobody was stomping in puddles or feeling carefree about getting soaked in what was a relatively warm shower for this time of year. Everyone was in a hurry to get somewhere they were not. As for me, I worried my camera would get damaged by the dampness and lamented that I was missing out on dozens of good shots keeping it out of harm's way.

I agree with the words expressed in an old television series Leave It To Beaver, "You're never too old to do goofy stuff." And although I didn't jump up and down in the rain, I was ridiculously excited to see this fleet of umbrellas break through the clouds that gloomy day and put on a show as if just for me.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms