RAIN

The weather forecast had been for a 20% possibility of measurable rain fall happening. The forecast had been that way for so long that no one seemed to believe it could even remotely happen. During the fourth week of August , the memory of the last rain fall was dim indeed. The leaves on the giant oak trees around the yard were turning browner by the day. Each step on the lawn gave a dry crisp crackling sound as it compressed the dead brown grass. Mowing the grass was not an issue this August ! The morning air was very still and dust rose slowly up to fill his nostrils with each step.
The trip to the end of the driveway had been postponed from the day before. The mailman had waved as he accelerated away from the rural route mail box and the heat waves shimmering up off of the driveway had made his image somewhat blurry. Retreating to the cool of the house, he thought, I'll hike to the mailbox when the sun is a little bit lower.
The telephone rang as he stepped into the deep shade and conditioned air of the house. It was good/bad news. A friend that was deployed to the middle East with the Army had been injured and was in the hospital at Fort Carson. The bad news was that a friend was suffering from his service to our country. The good news was that he had made it back and would likely recover well. More phone calls followed and the trip to the mailbox was never made.
While sipping on his second cup of coffee the next day, the forecast that he heard was a 20% chance of rain. He snorted as he sipped coffee from the cup, ha ! He thought, fat chance of that ! But, I will go get that mail, while it is cool !
The early light of day revealed, as he stepped outside for the first time, that a cloud bank was building to the North West. As he removed the letters from the mailbox he heard it for the first time. Deep low and almost ominous sounding , it was obvious that the distant rumble of thunder had traveled considerable distance.
Walking slowly as he sorted his way through the mail, he felt the first gust of wind. It was heavy and smelt of impending rain. The mail lost it's interest for him, as he peered into the gathering clouds. In the distance across the pasture he began to see the rain shower as it quickly approached.
He didn't hurry to the house, but instead continued to amble down the driveway at a leisurely pace. By the time he entered the house and announced, "honey, I went after the mail", his shirt was wet and his smile was broad. What a pleasant surprise in the last week of August.