Saturday, May 10, 2008

Rainy Season is here.......

Yes, indeed the rainy season has arrived. We know this not because it has been raining...even though we have had thunderstorms and showers in the last few days.... we know because the humidity levels have reached unimaginable highs!!! Today it must be 90 degress with humidity much higher than that. At least it feels that way.....

In our small island, this is an important day: 11th Annual Brickell Key Day. It's a lovely idea and a good excuse, for most, to walk around the island. From the balcony of my 15th floor apartment, I can see the tents, the traffic and the preparations. It looks so festive and inviting; but that is because the breeze can still be felt up here. Can't imagine what it would be like down there. Of course, I will find out soon..... it's time to join the fun!

Well, we went and came back. It was a fine experience. I am sure the organizers thought that it was a great way to encourage community life on our small island. In many ways, that was needed because this place is a melting pot of sorts. People from so many countries from Argentina to Cuba, from Colombia to Jamaica, from Russia to Romania. You hear so many languages being spoken in elevators, parks and the small market.

There were vendors selling everything from paintings to sculptures, from jewellery to ceramics. There were second-hand books, plants and food. In the village green, there were clowns and jugglers keeping the children and their parents amused. There was live music and other entertainers, and of course there were the groups of friends just socializing in the shade. All in all, not a bad day in our small community!

Next year, maybe some reference to the advent of the rainy season should be made. After all, not long after it starts raining another important date arrives: hurricane season!! The beginning of six months of playing hide-and-seek with Mother Nature. She of the willful mind, who keeps us in suspense most of the years, and punishes us in others. Yes, Brickell Key Day will serve to get us in a hopeful frame of mind.

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