Much Ado about NOTHING

Driving Rain

There are few activities I hate more than driving in a heavy rain in the dark.

My night vision isn't great, and the combination of pounding rain, windshield wipers that smear as much as they clarify, a shiny roadway that looks like a dark mirror (doubling every tail- and traffic light), and a pitch-black sky always tempts me to pull over and wait it out.

Windshield wipers annoy me. After a while, their rubbery scraping and thwacking sound reminds me of a throbbing headache. And the harder it rains, the faster they go.

Those sheets of rain can make the car feel claustrophobic. Poor visibility means I suddenly become more aware that I'm inside a small capsule, rather than feeling like I'm outside -- the feeling I get when I can concentrate on a clear road ahead.

When I'm out in the car on a rainy night, I often remember the "driving in the rain" scene in Psycho -- and the relief that Marion Crane/Janet Leigh feels when she sees that Bates Motel sign materialize through a curtain of rain. I can identify. Though, of course, there are worse things than a wet ride....