Inclement Weather

It's been raining in Whistler for the last few days, so things have been cold and obviously wet. I haven't been up on the mountain recently, but I hear it's not raining up there, and snow is falling in its place.

I was driving up from The City last night in the hardest downpour I've experienced since moving out of Guangzhou. As I was sitting at a traffic light, I saw some pedestrians trying to stick it out sans parapluie. It made me remember doing the same thing in China.

One day it looked all nice and sunny, so I ventured outside without my trusty umbrella. It started to pour, with raindrops the size of golf balls peppering me from above. I hid under an overpass, and waited out the downpour.

When it cleared, I began walking out in the open again. I was downtown, close to the shoe store I liked, and close to the Ocean Hotel where Carol and I often caught the shuttle back to YiHe. (This story happens after Carol was forced to retreat to Canada for medical reasons). I was walking across a plaza of sorts, when suddenly I became very frightened.

The biggest explosion I'd ever heard was busy ringing in my ears. While there was subway construction going on close-by, I knew it wasn't that. It was too loud to be natural, so I figured it could only be man-made, and was likely meant to hurt me.

In the middle of the plaza, I got down on one knee, ducked, and covered my head with one arm. I was now as prepared as I could be for the imminent explosive destruction.

Nothing happened, and when I peered out from under my arm, I saw all the local Chinese walking along like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I realized the explosion must have been natural, and was simply a really really close and loud clap of thunder.

This Chinese thunder possessed a depth and volume that I was not used to, and had never experienced before. It'd be like listening to music on homemade speakers for your whole life, and then suddenly being exposed to amps-to-eleven surround-sound with extra bass.

I stood straight, and continued strolling through the plaza. I was embarrassed, but felt I had made the right decision. What if it had been a big plaza bomb? I would have been prepared! Plus, they say that children often take after their parents. Evidently, this was the case because as soon as I continued walking, I recalled Dad's story about the first time he visited Stratford. He heard the daily Festival cannon, which signals the start of the production, and quickly dove into a ditch for cover.

Better safe than sorry!

China. Providing quality memories, since 2007!