Today, as lightning flashed and thunder rolled above the towers of Midtown Atlanta, the time came for me to walk to work.
Unlike most Atlantans, my morning commute is blissfully uncomplicated. No sitting in snarled traffic for me. No two-hour one-way commutes to the suburbs. No road rage. I walk out the door. I cross two streets. I walk five minutes. I'm there.
Except when it rains — and when I've left my big, honkin' golf umbrella in my cube at work.
But today, even that didn't seem to be an issue, because earlier this week, our new coats and hooded rain ponchos from Land's End — clothes for the upcoming trip to New Zealand — were delivered. So I clipped off the tags, wrapped myself in a zippered layer of lightweight vinyl, popped up the hood, and launched myself out into the storm. (I put my trusty, aquaphobic Kindle in a Ziploc plastic bag. Yes, you can still read and turn pages through a Ziploc. Yes, I really did that. And yes, I'm a little … addicted.)
Some notes, then, on walking to work in a Land's End rain poncho during a torrential downpour without an umbrella:
1. If you have a belly, you need a 'brella. It's true: wherever I go, my happy-Buddha belly precedes me. Today, the protrusion was just enough to create a sort of shelf, allowing rainwater to pool and soak through the poncho's decidedly-not-waterproof zipper. When I got to work, I found a hand-sized, spade-shaped watermark on the front of my Izod shirt. Note to self: lose some weight, or always carry an umbrella.
2. If it's raining really hard, in addition to the poncho, you need a pair of vinyl rain breeches. The water that didn't flow through my zipper cascaded down my waterproof poncho … and onto my non-waterproof slacks. My thighs are now soaking wet — so wet, in fact, that my britches are clingy in all the wrong places. Body heat will handle this eventually (I hope). For now, though, I'm not quite as presentable as I'd like to be.
3. If it's raining hard enough to turn curbs into miniature waterfalls, you need a pair of Duck Shoes. Loafers are comfy. Until they're wet. 'Nuff said.
I'm lucky: after walking to work for two years now — today, in fact, is my second anniversary at The Company, to the day — I've only had to walk to or from work in the rain a handful of times. (Thanks, drought!) That said: I'm thinking I might want to dedicate a buck or two to a light London Fog raincoat and a pair of waterproof shoes.
With those on hand, I'll be able to walk to work in the rain so comfortably, I won't even notice that my Kindle is in a Ziploc bag.
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