When I was 14, my friend, Susie, invited a few of us for a sleepover on Friday night. Her backyard was an avocado grove that sloped to a drainage ditch we called the La Branca. It had rained heavily that evening, so the next day we took Styrofoam boogie boards and rode them down into the ditch, where we happily paddled downstream.
Of course, it was dangerous. I can hardly believe I did it, and now I envision being sucked into the sewer or wherever that little ditch goes. My mother was horrified. I remember her telling my dad, “Donna played in a ditch Saturday morning.”
In recent years, I’ve been pretty tame. I avoid bad weather and hunker down inside. Until today.
We have a regular Tuesday golf group and most canceled because of anticipated rain. I was the first one to arrive at the golf course, and it was deserted. I approached the clerk and said I was going to brave it and see if I could play 18, but I could always get a rain check, right? He said they don’t do rain checks. I did not get mean or swear, but I did say that was a ridiculous racket.
He got nice after that and said we could go whenever the rest of the group arrived. No need to wait for our tee times. This was about 9:30 a.m., and my tee time was 10:04. It was sprinkling off and on, but the big rain was expected around 12:30 p.m. I putted a little bit and checked my emails. Two more had canceled. I thought, I could wait around another 30 minutes and be the only one here. I’m going for it.
I asked the guy in the shop if I could go out alone, and he said sure, he’d tell anyone in my group who showed up I got an early start to try and beat the rain. Rain, you can’t stop me! I was dressed in multiple layers with a rain jacket over it all. And a good hat.
Not that golf is dangerous in the rain unless there’s lightening, but it’s kind of a mess. I’ve been sort of a fair weather golfer lately, but I was ready to begin the adventure. I usually walk, and I considered taking a cart, but I figured wet is wet. A cart won’t save me, and my pull cart has an umbrella.
It was so much fun. I had the course to myself, and I felt like a kid again. It did get pretty wet out there, but I managed to walk 18 holes in three hours … before the big deluge. As I walked up to the golf shop, I saw the rest of the group. Just three brave souls. They quit at the turn, where they were happy to see the club house, and we decided gather inside for a bite to eat.
And that was my only mistake. Sitting there for an hour in wet clothes gave me a chill. On the way home, I put the car heater on high and heated up my seat, too. I really didn’t warm up until I got home and took off those wet clothes. My golf junk is soaked and drying out in the garage.
But it was fun! If I weren’t retired, I might have felt ripped off, but I have plenty of time, and I like to stay active. That said, as I’ve gotten older, I’m pickier about enjoying the outdoors in less than ideal conditions.
I’ve come to think whatever your sport, whatever your weather, if you’re properly dressed, a little nastiness won’t hurt you. What do you think? Ride it out inside or go for it? For me, it was just plain fun, and in the future, I will be more open to getting outside when it’s wet.
But super cold weather? Let’s sit by the fire and talk about that for awhile.
I’ve gotten to be a weenie about the weather. It’s not that I mind getting wet or cold, but somehow the overall grayness just depresses me and I want to nest indoors. Sometimes I can make myself work in the garage.
One thing I often think about is cities like Copenhagen or Amsterdam where bicycles are the single mode of transportation to get to work or the train station. It rains a lot there and winter brings snow. Do they wear their stylish work clothes to the job in driving rain and snow? Inquiring minds really want to know.
I do like to nest indoors! I sort of like the grayness, but cold kicks my butt.
I often go outside even in the cold. You know what they say about “bad” weather – there’s no bad weather; only bad clothes.
Yes, if I decide to go somewhere to play in the cold, I will need some new clothes.
One of my fondest memories of my dad is the day he was visiting and we went out to play golf even though we were getting the tail end (in CT) of a hurricane. There was no lightening, but heavy rain and strong winds. Nobody else was dumb enough to be on the course. We took a cart and laughed our way through 9 holes before we quit. Drenched but happy.
One very interesting thing about playing in the rain (which I did another couple of times) is that my score (except for the hurricane) is always much better! My problem in golf is trying too hard, which tenses my muscles and ruins my game. When I play in the rain, I don’t even bother trying to play well. As a result, my muscles don’t tense up and my score goes down amazingly. The only birdie I ever had on a hole was in the rain.
I love that story! Thank you so much for sharing it. As for scores, I also tend to play better for the same reasons.
While not as impressive as playing golf in the rain, I got wet today … playing Pokémon Go. I would not have considered it but for my daughter and granddaughter telling me that they were waiting for me at the park. They and the many other players at the park were not deterred. Wiping rain drops off my phone’s screen while holding an umbrella with my armpit did add to the adventure.
I love your blogs, Donna.
Hi Lynn, great to hear from you! I am super-impressed you played Pokémon Go in any kind of weather. Sounds like you are having fun. And thank you very much for the kind words — I sincerely appreciate it.