Ugh, another rainy day in Vancouver. Not the normal drizzle that is pervasive throughout the winters around here, but a full downpour. It’s June 2 so summer weather should be happening. I should be wearing shorts and sandals not a sweater and slicker. But what can you do – weather is one of those things that you can complain about but not control. The complaint seems to accomplish nothing other than to make you miserable. So I picked up my umbrella – it does not often get used in the winter rains as a drizzle is manageable with a wide brimmed hat – and I headed out into the rain for my walk.

Before leaving the dry zone of my front porch and entering the downpour, I packed a pipe with some Dark Twist to smoke while I was on the walk. Smoking in the rain has always been something I have avoided for the most part. On occasion, I have turned my pipe upside down to keep it going in the drizzle and tried to enjoy the smoke but it was always a pain. This evening the umbrella was a godsend. The pipe would stay dry and keeping it going would be no trouble. I could smoke it right side up!! The umbrella formed a dome shaped smoking room around me that not only kept things dry but also created a zone that held the smoke around my head. If you can picture a person walking in a cloud of smoke you get the picture of the still air that held the smoke in place as I walked. I got to smell my own tobacco and live with the room note in a limited space.

I had avoided smoking with an umbrella in the past as it seemed like it would be just one more thing to hold onto while I was walking. I had all kind of discussions with myself about how I could not tamp or manage a lighter and a pipe and an umbrella at the same time, but this time I just did it. No excuses, no rationale. I made sure to fire the pipe and tamp and relight before I started on the walk and just figured I would deal with the issue of tamping and relighting should I need to when it occurred.

I started down the sidewalk walking under the trees, enjoying the smell of the tobacco and the surprising experience of a good smoke. The pipe did not go out nor did I need to tamp for awhile. I just enjoyed the moment of the smoke. It was almost like taking a mobile room with me. It was quiet with the pattering of rain on the umbrella. Traffic was at a minimum as it was after dinner. The light swish of cars going by a block away on the busy street near home was not an interruption. In the course of my walk I met an older woman (older is now a relative term for me in this 57^th year!) who looked at the pipe and said how good it was to see someone smoking a pipe out and about! She said it brought back memories of her father and uncles who were all pipe smokers. She smiled as she walked by! Contentedly I walked on in the rain enjoying even more the solitude and pleasure of the pipe after that kind of comment.

None of the antis seemed to be about – I guess the rain must also be harmful to our health! As this was the case I walked through the neighbourhood park (illegal to smoke in the parks in Vancouver). The park is a great green space that takes up a square block in the centre of my neighbourhood. It is filled with large Chestnut, Oak, Fir, Pine, Cedar, Maple and Cherry trees. The grass is long as it has been too wet to mow and the smell of the rain is a pleasure in the park away from the street and the cars. I walked to the overhang at the school next to the park and set the umbrella down so I could tamp my pipe. I decided to just stay there in the dry space for a few moments and smoke my pipe while I watched the rain. It was as if I was the only one out walking this early evening.

I shook out my umbrella and then continued my walk. I finished my pipe under the umbrella as I walked home. It is amazing to me how the pipe gave me a different perspective and attitude toward the rain. It was far different than my usual whine about the rain and the damp and it being June!! I came home in good spirits and settled down with a good book knowing that I did not have work in the yard or garden this evening!