Why does rain make us calm?
It's raining outside. Big drops. Gorgeous sound. Couldn't be happier.
It makes tea taste better, makes lounge wear more comfy, makes the guilt about not GETTING OUT THERE and DOING ALL THE THINGS drift away.
"Rain produces a sound akin to white noise. The brain gets a tonic signal from white noise that decreases this need for sensory input, thus calming us down. Similarly, bright sun tends to keep us stimulated."
Kimberly Hershenson, Therapist and anxiety and depression specialist
Without all the errand running due to inclement/wonderful weather, I'll be clacking at my typewriter. My mom picked up another typewriter at an antique store. Looked alright, seemed to work fine, but I soon realized the ribbon wasn't advancing. It was stuck in place.
Like the Tin Man (who doesn't like rain as much as I do).
Someone had used this machine a lot. There were signs of correction fluid dried here and there. And a new ribbon was put in place, then... nothing.
Years it sat idle. The whole thing in a coma. The ribbon had fused itself onto the prongs where it sat.
Kind of broke my heart.
Since fixing these things professionally is inconvenient at best, I flipped her over, opened her up, and tried to find the problem. Solving the problem would be another skill but I felt I would at least need to be able to explain something to a repair person. There is no electricity anywhere with these manual beasts so it doesn't feel so risky to tickle your fingers here and there and push things around. I discovered that the thing that advances the ribbon was fused in place along with the ribbon itself. Years of sitting without anyone to play with.
Poor little bug on typewriter by the wall
No one to love him at all
No one to wash his clothes
No one to tickle his toes
Poor little bug on typewriter by the wall
So I jiggled the thing that advances the ribbon... technical typewriter-speak.. and I actually got it working.
Self is amazed by self.
Now it's as good as new. I popped in a fresh ribbon and it is back online. Or on line. Or on. Or... well, not on... it's a manual so it is never off. What are the hip terms for typewriter usage?!?!?!
So now I'll sit inside and type out letter. Some for people who subscribed to the Paris Letters for years. It is always nice to see familiar names pop up in the Etsy shop, people who have been supporting this cat’s arts all along. You don't know you're going to miss them, but you do. You think your time together stops with the ending of an era, but just a little jiggle and the plot advances.
Since the weather is foul (gorgeously so), my next letter will likely include waxing poetic about rain, about how when the weather is ruffled, the soul is quiet, about how even the birds huddle and stop chirping. About tea and rainbow umbrellas and how the shine of the sidewalks makes everything old feel a little bit new again.
