Cats, dogs, rain, roofs and bicycles

Speaking of animals, it's raining cats and dogs around here. I ran across an explanation for that phrase quite some time ago. Not having the time to verify it I'll accept it as a believable theory for now. It seems that a few centuries back when people built homes out of whatever they could find, the roofs were made from straw or long grass or even clods of sod on a wooden frame. When bad weather came around many of the animals were brought into the home for protection. But, for some reason the cats and dogs were kept in small coveys in the roof. When the rain came down in torrents it washed away part of the roofing and down would come the cats and dogs. Sounds believable to me I guess. I just wonder why the dogs and cats were banished to the roof while pigs and cattle, sheep and mules came inside?

I suppose we all have our unexplainable little quirks don't we? One of my favorite things to do is to walk in the rain. The more rain the better. Riding a bicycle is great too. However, one day I was riding a bicycle on the sidewalk after about 3 inches of rain came down within an hour. I was on the sidewalk because I felt the car drivers had enough to watch out for what with all the puddles and fallen tree branches without dodging a bicycle too. As I looked up from the sidewalk I noticed a truck driver coming in the opposite direction on the road. His eyes were huge and his mouth was open as if to yell something. In another second I found out what it was that caused his discomfort. Bwoosch! Although he tried to avoid it, his tires hit a deep mud puddle in the road as he went by and the wave he created came over me like a Tsunami, splashing me and knocking me over sideways onto the soaked and muddy grass on the side of the road. No injuries but cause for a good laugh I guess. I must have looked like some sort of primeval earth creature. I didn't find any cats or dogs though.

So, there we have it. Cats, dogs, mud puddles and not too aware bicycle riders. One of the greatest gifts of civilization is written history so we may learn from it. That way we don't have to chase our tails looking to break the boredom. And then again, you could just say that I'm all wet!..............Joe