Today, as I tromped through mud puddles, dodged falling missiles of water and did my utmost to stay as dry and as warm as possible, I reflected that rain was never THIS wet in Portland. I've dashed through burst of showers before, been drenched by those steady drizzles, but for goodness sakes, I've actually bought an umbrella. I actually USE the umbrella which I think is even more weird than the first statement.

Drizzles in Texas are just bigger than drizzles in Portland. If it's drizzling in PDX you just hold on to your coat and make a dash for it. When it drizzles here, if you do dash it means that you'll be soaked up to your ankles, your coat won't dry out for hours, and the waterproof parka that you bought, just isn't as waterproof. Really, it's not. Because when you take it off you'll discover that your shirt is just slightly damp. About as damp as you would have expected to get dashing through a drizzle, but it's your well-covered interior.

But a seasoned Texan is smarter than that. Portlanders think that this whole layering craze is fashionable, but it has it's roots in Texas. How many cowboy movies have you seen with those sundrenched boys unbuttoning their topmost button to reaveal a shirt underneath? You see, that's how Texan's dress, and luckily right now it is fashionable. I put on a long sleeved undershirt, followed by a dressy t-shirt, followed by a buttoned up shirt followed by jacket, scarf, gloves, hat, rubber boots and umbrella. When the umbrella fails, the hat kicks in. When the waterproof jacket is actually just water resistant than the the buttoned up shirt kicks in. When I reach my destination, off comes the hat (thank you Lord for the invention of hairspray, and yes, I'm starting to use A LOT of hairspray, I'm afraid my hair might turn blonde), the jacket, the buttoned up shirt to reveal my dry outfit underneath. Now, if the rubber boots don't match my outfit, off the come and I whip out a pair of shoes from my oversized purse. Voila! I look great, and I don't look like I just stepped out of a carwash.