Side Bar--

I made my 40 minute commute home in the pouring rain up until the last half mile.

I pulled in the driveway, and just before getting out of my truck I was caught in the web of magic around me. The air was so thick that leaves were moving from the wet rather than the breeze, the sun far enough down that the whole world was oozing into a soft green glow. Even the sky was a shade of pale seafoam green. The carpet of woodruff in my front yard sparkled. If you don't know woodruff, it is a thick, dense ground cover about 4 inches tall. Right now it is a dusting of powdered sugar white blossoms on poofy clouds of green fluff leaves. There is a deep secret scent the Earth offers up ONLY after days and days of rain.

I took as long as I could to walk from my truck to the front door. There is no special effect in George Lucas' arsenal that can produce the magic in my front yard after eleven days of rain as the sun is winding down in the middle of May. You will never hear me complain of the rain.