Various Shades of Grey
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3/9/2010
As a native of Portland and lifetime resident, one thing that has not changed is the predominant color of our environs: Grey. If you think grey is not so bad, then imagine driving on the freeway to work each morning, and a bright object revealing a cold, peeled potato is lingering somewhere in the sky, almost invisible because of the soggy drippy blanket which hoods our land. That object is the Sun. Look around you, at the other vehicles on the freeway, and what do you see? Vehicles overwhelmingly colored in shades of grey, silver, or some kind of metallic brown. Yes, they nearly blend into the asphalt and concrete from which they seem to rise. If the car was not originally one of these dreary colors, it is now, thanks to the endless road spray film which accumulates every day. Roll down your window, and the cars sound like hissing snakes crawling forward, approaching equally ugly, bland buildings which hold their jobs.
Awe, but the weekend comes. In Portland, three days of solid rain is called a three day weekend. Get outside anyway, if you don't mind being cold, damp, wind-blown, and dirty.
When the Sun comes, for even its brief appearances, months of moisture mobilizes into humidity. True, it is not uncomfortably humid in Portland for most of the year. That is because it is simply too cold. When the sun does come, you will find sunburned, squinty eyed albinos venturing outdoors, looking carnky and exhausted. These are our citizens, in August. Don't worry, it only lasts a few weeks......
Jason | West Linn, OR