Upside Down Kris

  Considering Rain I never expected my feelings about Rain to change in coming to live on an island. I used to always feel bad for/about Rain, and viewed him as a misunderstood and frustrated character (hence the capital R.) For most of my life the general consensus was that he was an inconvenience at best and dangerous at worst, and of course that affected my view of him as well. I remember once the sky was pummeling down so tremendously in Italy that the authorities announced a public emergency for three days, closing schools and everything possible. Not owning a t.v. meant I had no idea how bad it was outside and faced the downpour with an umbrella which quickly turned into a bunch of  spokes with a canvas dangling off of them. Of course the school where I worked was quite shut. I splashed home with my shoes sopping and followed the motherly advice of taking a hot shower to avoid getting sick. Many streets, basements and stores were flooded for days or even weeks. Rain had ...

Autumn on the Island   Autumn has swept in. Not with boughs bending in the wind releasing flames in the form of leaves...that's not part of the nature of palms, the most prevalent plant on this island. Their heads are not so full of fire that they burn their own leaves, leaving them to brown on the grass like a maple. No...it's the air rising on the boardwalk, the walkers beginning to clench clothes to their chests that are signs of Autumn. And honestly there are so few walkers left. The summer strip of restaurants even at 10 or 11 at night were pleasantly clinking large, round pizza plates or dessert dishes drizzled with chocolate left over from a delectable crêpe. Now there is only a select group of people facing the air which sometimes carries some wisps of warmth at 9 or 10. The rains have come, particularly in the morning. The stones lining the roads are often damp. Sometimes this wetness lasts throughout the day, hardly ever a full-fledged rage of a storm: just a light s...