A Rainy Day in the Big City, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

The forecast was for a slight chance of rain so I headed into Boston anyway hoping for the best. Who would have guessed that an unbroken line of rain and embedded storms stretched from Boston to Albany moving eastward. It turned my outing into a whole different experience. I walked to the SOWA Open Market from Post Office Square but, the deluge forced me to ride the Silver Line back to Downtown Crossing and dodge raindrops from there. I knew I should have brought raingear but......a great experience nevertheless. Unplanned and random.



Sheltering under the Macy's overhang at Downtown Crossing, I enjoyed the lively tunes of the strolling Downtown Boston Brass quartet.



I'd be curious to know how successful this request is.



No, this is not a museum piece but, it could be. For those of you in the younger demographic, this is a public telephone, which, in the olden days (before cellphones in your pocket), was the only way to contact someone else when you were out and about. You actually inserted coins into the vertical slot at the top to make them function. As a kid when I walked by one, I would always check the coin return to see if someone had left their change. They often did. (By the way, "change" is the term applied to small round metallic objects that were used as legal tender before debit and credit cards and Paypal and Venmo and Dwolla, and and and..........)



I have digressed, this post was about the rain so, here's a brief study of rain avoidance techniques. None of the participants were aware they were in the study. This first image, each person has his/her own umbrella.



This second image, only one umbrella is shared by two people, walking in lockstep formation.



This third image, only one person with one umbrella, walking blurringly fast. I've always wondered, does walking faster in the rain to dodge the drops actually work or, do you just get wetter faster with the same number of drops?



This fourth and final image is the best of all - here's what to do with an old dry cleaner bag languishing in your closet covering that dress or suit or gown you will likely never wear again because it's too small or out of fashion. (Not for children!)

As is always the case, I had a great time in Boston even though my original intention got rained out. That's the third weekend in a row that the SOWA market has been rained on or rained out.