BennyEast.Com/Blog The official blog of Kenny West

A short little rainy day story

So when I was little I lived in California.  Often we'd have droughts.  And there would be no watering the lawn or anything like that.  Now this was bad news for me because when I was 6 and lived in california my favorite thing to do was play out in the sprinkler when it was hot out.  But when you are 6 seriously isn't running and jumping through the sprinkler the cooooolest thing ever?  I think it is.

Now the other thing about California is that the school hallways were outdoors.  So the school buildings were more like a "strip mall" in California.  Whereas here on the east coast the schools are built more like regular malls.  So there's one entrance and all your shops... or class rooms are down hallways.

Well so when it rains things get all wet and yucky when trying to get from one class to another...even though there are awnings/canopies/overhangs and such some of the getting from one place to another still can get you a little wet.

SOooooooo the teachers would have us sing songs when walking around from one class to another.  One of those songs... was... "rain rain go away" when it would rain.

Which is all fine and good... but one day when it was raining and we were walking from one building to another the teacher was having us  sing the song.  But I thought well hold on a second, for the last month I haven't been allowed to run through the sprinkler because it's been drier than... umm... the inside of a dryer for the last 2 months!

SO... I'm walking behind everyone kind of sad and confused and not really keeping pace with the whole line... then I called out to the teacher  in the front of the line.  Everyone stopped in their tracks turned around as they turned around the singing rain rain go away protest faded out.  (except that one kid who was REALLY into it, he just kept singing and walking for another 30 feet until he realized no one else was with him)

"Yes, Kenny?"

So everyone was staring at me mouths gapped open wide as if to say... "he interrupted the song!"

(and also he's not standing in a single file line anymore)...

So then I got kinda nervous... and I'm looking back at all these staring eyes... as they are looking at me...

I pause for a moment.  Then I say...

"Well... it doesn't make any sense."

The teacher says, "what doesn't make any sense?"

I say, "The song... I don't understand."

Then she says, "oh... well what don't you understand about it?"

The other kids eyes are wide as they dart back and forth between me and the teacher like some kinda Forest Gump ping pong match.

So then I say, "Well, It hasn't rained in months and it's finally raining... and everyone says we need the rain and so the rain is good and here you are telling us to tell something good to go away!  You are telling us to tell the rain to go away, but we need the rain because we haven't had any rain... so I don't want to sing this song any more... I refuse to sing the song.  Because we need rain so I can play with the sprinkler at home and you want us to tell the rain to go away!"

The teacher was... hmmm... we'll say caught off guard and was thinking hard of what to say.

I was on the verge of tears.

So the teacher said "well what would you like to sing?"

I said "How about we change the lyrics and have them say, rain rain here to stay, make the drought go away"

Then the other kids all laughed.

And the teacher said "That's a lovely idea, but how about we just sing something else."

The kids laughed more.

We started singing an alternative children's song... of twinkle twinkle little star and marched on...

But lets be honest... REALLY she was just being sneaky.  If the stars are out that evening twinkling away then the rain has gone away... hasn't it?

I THINK it has.

You win this one... Ms. Teacher Lady.