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--> --> So how about that weather? By Mike Ely Ashland Something wonderful happened this past week, but I'm not sure we even noticed. Collectively, we've found ways to keep busy, and we are all very busy. When times are such as they are now, it's imperative to stay very well occupied, or at least diverted. I know what my diversion is - do you? And why shouldn't we stay busy? Collectively, we are still in shock from the disgusting and very public slaughter of nearly 3,000 people who left for work one morning thinking for the most part of nothing more pressing than the long-term effects of changing price-earnings ratios or where to go for lunch. We are still in shock from the shift in suddenly having to look twice at what the postman brings to us come rain, sleet, snow, or dark of night. And if we allow ourselves to think about it, we can't help but wonder if the leadership of this country is making the right call in its response to these events, to the shock we all feel. We are the wounded brothers and sisters of Paris, the hurt cousins of Haifa, the unhappy stepchildren of Jerusalem. Our relatives in these places and many like them can tell us without hesitation what we have just learned about human nature, about mortality, about perseverance. They have lived in our new house for generations. But did I mention? Something wonderful happened this week. I didn't notice it at first, but when I did, it made me very happy. Not grinning-like-an-idiot happy, more the happiness that comes of fond remembrance. It's a happiness I have to work hard at, because over the last year, I have conditioned myself to accept the unacceptable, and by extension have parted from the naive notion that the world is essentially right side up. But this week it rained. It's difficult to imagine a more right side up occurrence in the beginning of October than scattered showers, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s with fog along the coast. These empirical facts were duly noted by meteorologists, news anchors, newspaper editors, and probably almost nobody else. We were too busy. On any other year, the first rains are celebrated by mock agony and delighted self-drenching, but this year I have heard perhaps three words of comment about the week's weather. It is as if we are experiencing a collective tunnel vision: Get whatever it is we have set out to do done because this might be our last day on earth and if we slow down even a little bit, we might miss it. The irony is, of course, that we have been so caught up in the abnormal that we have missed the most normal thing in the world - not just the rain, but our wholly natural and healthy reaction to its annual return. We need to do the very things we aren't doing right now - the normal things, the right things, the things we all can agree upon. So, the next time you have to turn on your windshield wipers or use an umbrella on your way to work or to play, make a point of finding someone to ask, "So, how about the weather?" Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing