The Weather

Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it, Mark Twain once wrote. 

Well, I was chatting with a neighbor yesterday, a woman whom Louis used to work with and who now lives in my neighborhood, and when I complained about the unusual amount of rainfall this year, she told me that this was actually a normal amount of rainfall for Bali, the only difference this year being that 'they' (the government, I assume), given the presence of COVID and the absence of tourists, had chosen not to suppress the rain.

Hmm. How interesting! I had no idea that this could even be done. I have to suppose that they seed the clouds (or whatever) as they come our way and cause them to drop their rainy louds before they float over Bali, for rain is not conducive to tourism or to attendance of the many international events that are held here. 

So the one thing I found 'good' about COVID--that is, the absence of tourists and the thinning of the crowds (not to mention the traffic)--has lost its appeal. It's not worth the daily soaking, the house floodings, the wall leakings and so on. Just yesterday, I had headed out for a coffee, just a short distance away, only to be caught in a flash rainstorm. Sure, I had my rain smock in my bike seat, but by the time one stops to retrieve his coat, he may as well have already jumped in a lake. As it happened, I had to just turn around and go home, peel off my soggy clothing, take a shower, dress again, and forget about getting out of the house for the rest of the day. 

I guess this is what happens when no one actually does anything about the weather.