Moon pix.

One of the first things I noticed upon moving to this mountain town is that NO ONE HERE USES UMBRELLAS.

I do not understand why.

I was walking down the main street in August when the sky opened up and dumped buckets and buckets of water down on all of us, and I was the ONLY ONE in sight carrying an umbrella. I wondered to myself if everyone else somehow forget theirs that day, but no! People just refuse to carry them!

This confuses me greatly. I guess it’s an image thing because everyone here is a pseudo professional hiker/backpacker/OUTDOORSMAN OR WOMAN who are simply too in-touch with nature to protect themselves from precipitation. The thing is, though, even if your $1,000 North Face Jacket Designed By Shackelton Himself With Woolen Earflaps Built In has a hood, it’s not gonna keep the rest of you from getting soaked by the time you reach your destination. I understand that when the gale force winds we frequently experience pick up, an umbrella would be useless, but when it’s SNOWING and POURING RAIN at the same time and the wind is perfectly calm (re: this morning), why am I the only one on a mile stretch of road protecting myself from the elements?

I am going to start an umbrella appreciation society for the three other students on campus who have good sense/appropriate rain gear.