I Visit Another Planet

One thing that I miss about Ohio is the weather. Yeah, its always warm and sunny here but that can be boring. In Ohio, one day its 75 and sunny and the next day its 45 and rainy. One day it will snow and the next day its shorts and a t-shirt weather. I sort of liked that.

One thing that Ohio is used to is rain. Last spring it seemed like it rained every day for like 3 months. I think it rained something like 29 of 30 days. The beauty of Ohioans and all people from the Midwest, when the weather changes, we adapt and move on. If it rains for a month straight, "Oh well, that's Ohio weather." Well, this week at school, something happened that shocked the students, faculty, parents and quite frankly, probably every other person in Arizona. Something happened that was so shocking and eventful, I thought the Canadian Sensation Justin Beiber had stopped by. On Tuesday, September 13, it rained and it rained hard. Chaos ensued.

When I went to bed on Monday night, it was like any other night. It was hot as hell and the weather hadnt changed in weeks. I was awoken by lighting and rain around 3. I didnt think anything of it because well it was 3 am. When I left for school on Tuesday it was raining but not enough rain where I had to run to my car to avoid it. Just a light rain, nothing special. By the time school started it was pouring. By pouring, I mean it was an average rain in Toledo. Every student in the school went nuts. Students ran into my classroom to ask me if I noticed it was raining. Announcements were made to the students on how to "act" when it was raining. I was in awe. The students went nuts. In the middle of a lecture, a student asked me if it was still raining. Who cares! Students walked into my classroom soaked from walking outside (Sidebar: River Valley has 3 seperate building on campus where students are required to walk outside to get to and from class. Hence why they were soaked.) What happened next was something I never thought I would ever see in my life.

Around 11 in the morning, the AP came on the annoucements and said that students who rode bus #4, had to eat lunch now and go home. I was confused because I wasnt sure if I missed an email or a memo. So I walked next door to ask another teacher. He told me that the students had to go home because it was raining. What? Students have to leave school early because it is raining? I couldnt believe it. That wasnt even the worse part. Three teachers left school early and went home because it was raining. At this point, I thought I was on another planet. People really go home early because it is RAINING!?

When I drove home that day, I expected there to be flooding and people in canoes floating around the roads. You know what I saw? Nothing. Not a damn thing. I drove home and the roads were barely wet. They werent slippery. They werent dangerous. They were nothing but a little damp. Roads that the great people of Toledo drive on everyday from March 1st to May 30th. This might have been the first moment where I realized life out west is a little different than back home.