The experience of standing in hard rain is one of extreme dichotomy. You find yourself either wanting to get to shelter as quickly as possible, or you welcome in nature as it soaks your fingers and toes to prunes. It is a unique love that insulates one from the rain without the benefit of an umbrella.
True love can stand something so paltry as a rainstorm.
So last Saturday I was standing in the rain outside 7Eleven on Lane Avenue. It was pouring so furiously that it was difficult to hear anything but the machine gun smacks of water against pavement and people. I had woken up before the crack of dawn that morning in Illinois and flown to Columbus, just beating a series of brutal storms to central Ohio. The showers were constant and there was no sign of it stopping anytime soon. Still there were thousands upon thousands of people everywhere, buying concessions from street vendors, tailgating outside RVs, playing music and enjoying themselves despite the torrid weather.