Today was a dreary, rainy day in Chicago. People were sloshing their way to and from work dressed in rain boots, overcoats and hiding under umbrellas as if it was springtime with the tulips in bloom. On days like these, it never ceases to amaze me how unaware and inconsiderate people can be. Watching innocent bystanders ducking and dodging umbrellas reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite movies, A Christmas Story. Instead of “you’ll shoot your eye out kid,” on a rainy day its “be careful or someone’s umbrella will take you eye out!”
There’s a special “dance” we must do when maneuvering up and down sidewalks with an umbrella. The steps to the dance are simple, anyone can learn them. Here are the four rain dance steps:
Step One: Pay attention to what’s going on around you.
Step Two: When someone is approaching prepare to dance – either lift your umbrella up, if the person is shorter than you or lower your umbrella, if the person is taller than you. This will prevent you from taking the person’s eye out, giving them a sloppy umbrella kiss on the face or poking a hole in each other’s umbrellas.
Step Three: Once you arrive at your destination make sure no one is walking behind you before you stop to close your umbrella.
Step Four: Check near the door to see if the building has plastic umbrella bags. If they do, use it…help keep the floors throughout the building nice and dry.
Even if you don’t have rhythm these steps will have others happily asking you, “May I have this dance?”
Tacky Sighting #3 
