we had quite a down pour here last night. it had been threatening all day, getting darker and darker with each hour. as i was waiting for the rice to finish cooking, and just as it began to sprinkle, i sat on the threshold of my back door. it's such a pretty spot, outback, with of course those lovely tall trees dripping with spanish moss. and the neighboring buildings really aren't that close together. i mean the area is big enough for twenty men to play soccer back there, with plenty of room to spare.

there were a few men on their tiny back porches and women in various stages of dinner preparation, them too with their back doors open to let in the cool breezes that would eventually turn into full-out gusts. it was peaceful and soothing.

one man came back from the laundry (i assume) and fought to close his upturned umbrella. an amusing sight, since the umbrella was red and he kept lunging and thrusting it in front of him like he was attempting the final death gore into a fierce mexican bull.

by the time we'd finished eating, the rain began to really come down. no longer could i sit on the threshold, so i pulled up my stool a foot away from the door jam and watched the pouring rain. i was sprinkled with large drops and the floor was getting wet, but i didn't care.

i couldn't help myself, and pulled out my sketch pad and roughly drew the scene outside. i think it will be my next painting.

when finished, i had the uncontrollable urge just to take off my socks and run helter skelter around the massive backyard, in and out under trees, and through the forming puddles. what a sight that would have been for the neighbors, eh? la gringa is muy loco!

instead, i slipped off my socks, step out onto the porch, turned into the storm, arms back with my head tipped to the sky like a flesh and blood masthead and i let wind and rain ravage me.

within seconds, i was soaked. yet, i felt strangely cleansed. i've always thought of rain as a cleansing act, a cleansing of buildings, people, the earth...the symbolic cleansing of humanity.

just another evening in lalaland.