It was a nice rainy morning. We haven't had many of those lately and I welcomed it. Most weekdays, I walk 2 ½ miles, often with friends. When it is raining, it makes sense to show the neighbors that I am smart enough to come in out of the rain. Rain means make yourself comfortable, have another cup of something and read.
In fact, it rained all day. When it is raining out, a guy with glasses may want to remove them to avoid streaks and rivulets that interfere with good vision. I often wear a jacket with a hood or carry an umbrella. Many college students simply walk through the rain but they are not usually wearing hearing aids. I want mine to last, not rust or malfunction. As time goes by, hearing aids make more and more of difference. Now, when I pull them out, the sounds of the world and of course, what others are saying drop in volume and in clarity, often becoming incomprehensible.
If I were more virtuous, I might run and walk in the rain. But I want to show the pastors and rabbis that I am not an idolater, a slave to some idea of physical fitness and longevity. It helps my moderate approach to life to vary things a bit. "Why We Make Mistakes" cites studies that learning is slower when the conditions and surroundings are varied but that the learning is deeper and lasts longer. I am not trying to learn anything when I walk but I figure laying about has got to be good for something in some way, right?
Even when I drive to campus, I like to have an umbrella handy to protect my iPad as well as my hearing aids. I want to be able to reach out of the car with my left hand and put my umbrella up before exposing anything vulnerable to the rain. I bought an umbrella that is marked "one hand operation" but it isn't really. The thing opens nicely with one hand but it only closes partly using a single press of a button. I have already ordered another model but I bet it will be no better. My new one has a stretch band to hold it closed and that is a good feature but I have to open that band for the device to unfurl. I want one that is inexpensive, sturdy and can open its own closure band, pop open until the button is re-pressed. Then, I want it to completely collapse and re-encircle itself with its band. Might not get all that but those are the steps and features I want.
