The thunderclouds took over the sky this morning at about 7am and the rain came down moments later. At eleven, when I drove to my brother's home, it was still raining. I sat in his yard with a golf umbrella, pelted by rain and immersed in the latest Harry Potter. Yes, my friend, Moon, I have read them all and seen all the movies. When the 3rd book in the series came out I was as scornful as many. I commented to someone..."I don't do children's books." How wrong I was. In one night I took my god-daughter and her two friends to see NSYNC and started reading the first book. Over the next week I read all three and you know the rest of the story. For me, they are a little secret pleasure like canned corned beef sandwiches, Dots, and canned asparagus.

When I think of rain, though, I can't help but think of my 3 plus years in Tacoma/Seattle. When people asked how I could tolerate that rain, I remarked that at least I didn't have to shovel it. Harold Greenberg, the much referenced early GM at KDWB (when I was hired) was running the AM/FM combo in Seattle/Tacoma. The FM pumped out money riding the 'beautiful music' madness. The AM remembered the glory days and with finger nails vainly holding to the edge of the precipice tried not to drop off the map. I have much of My Story to tell about that time in Washington State, but that is yet to come in My Story. I hope we all last. What brings KTAC and Harold to mind is a comment he made on the day I flew in from San Francisco to case the joint. It was raining. In spite of the April shower that was supposed to bring the flowers that bloom in May...doo di doo doo dah di doo di doo doo....I'm SINGGGGGGGING in the RAAAAIN..just SINGGGGGGin' in the rain...what a.........where was I?

A couple of weeks later the movers picked up my stuff, I climbed into Ken Copper's old classic (another way of say..heap) and hopped on on Interstate 5; the car packed to the rafters (it was THAT old) and my dear cat Harve Tooky and my wonderful dog, Bozo crammed on top of it all. At 3am the next morning, in a rainstorm we arrived in Tacoma. Ken, my morning partner from K101 was putting his career at risk by coming along to do mornings in the Northwest. KTAC got a lot better than it deserved. The next day it was still raining. The next day it was still raining. I could keep typing that sentence or maybe I'll just copy and paste. The next day it was still raining. The next day it was still raining. ....etc etc. (I stole the last part from Yul Brynner) I kept hearing rumors of this big former volcano that WASN'T named after Grace Kelly's husband but WAS a dorment volcano that hovered over both Tacoma and Seattle. I didn't see it because..well...er...um..well, it was raining. The next day it was still raining.....

To prevent this from become a shaggy dog joke (THAT reminded me of my wonderful dog Bozo..little did I know I would bury him in a forest in that wet and gloomy place)...anyway....It rained and/or was solidly cloudy for 68 days. I began to suspect that there was no volcano. It was all a big lie told by the Pullayup Indians. But driving along Puget Sound on the 69th day in Tacoma...I just about crapped my pants!

Sometimes my writing has the magical quality of Truman Capote, don't you think? Yes! There was this HUGE mountain. It really DID hover over the city. It wasn't a lie. (Now days the Pullayup Indians are telling people their slot machines are loose...yah, right!)

It wasn't all work and no play. While in San Francisco, I used the magic of video-tape to record Judge Wapner every day and I would relax and unwind watching him brow-beat the litigants while I ate my dinner. I used to wish that Rusty would draw his gun and shoot Doug Lwellyn between the eyes..but it didn't happen. In Tacoma, I came home every night to my recording of PTL. Jim Baker and Tammy Faye and their daily trials and tribulations to build a Christian Theme Park, Kevin's House, and all the other stuff was better than any soap opera. I don't know what George Bush saw when he looked into Vladamir Putin's eyes...or was that his soul? Come to think of it..looking into Vlad's eyes sounds kinda gay. He may be a lot of things, but I don't think GB is gay. Al Gore is. Anyway, I looked into Jim and Tammy's eyes and I don't think Jim and Tammy were out-and-out scam artists. All that money just was too much for them and temptation even came to our Lord. I was sorry to hear Tammy Faye died. I am pretty sure she's in heavan now. It may be theologically unsound but on the other side of that great big mountain I like to think my Mom & Dad are there too. And my Gram. And Bozo and Harve. And Tammy Faye.

Rob