Summer Storms

Walking into Walmart, the sounds of thunder rumbled in the distance. The passing thought registered - would the rain arrive before my shopping efforts concluded?

My question was answered only a few minutes later. The beating of the rain against the Walmart sky lights echoed throughout the store. If I had been at home, I could have curled up for a good afternoon nap. The sound made even the most alert person sleepy.

So after picking up a few more items, I finish my shopping, checked out, and headed for my car. The exit from the store was crowded. People were waiting out the rain in hopes that the storm would pass quickly.

This isn't the part that struck me as interesting. Staying dry is important to everyone. Right?

More so, the gender of the individuals waiting is what struck me as interesting. Nearly 90% of those waiting were women. So out 10 individuals waiting only single male was waiting. As I stood there observing not only the people around me but the rain blowing sideways across the parking, more than one male passed through ranks of women and headed out into the storm to their cars.

So why would males head out into the storm and women deemed it better to wait out the rain? Granted my entire theory here may well be flawed. But flawed or not, stopping for a second and really examining the world around us is something we all should do from time to time.

Some of the reasons I pondered: women tend to shop more than men, men tend always be in a hurry, etc.

Of course, one should consider the fact that women are likely smarter than men. Showing a bit more patience means staying dry. Possibly men are only thinking of the short term gains like getting home while women take the long term view – not wearing wet clothes for the next couple of hours.

Ok, enough observing, time for me to head out into the storm. Life moves pretty fast, wasting it watching the rain fall doesn't seem like a productive use of my time.

Oh, yeah, before going, the primary reason women don't venture into the storm while men do, well the answer simple and is as old as time itself. They are made of sugar and spice. Everyone knows that sugar and spice dissolves in water. Right?

The Cool Down Runner