Umbrella weather

I don't think anyone ever has real luck with umbrellas. H insisted, awhile ago, on buying a nice, real umbrella (rather than one that shrinks up for easy accessorizing) in order to avoid that embarrassing scene when a flimsy umbrella, unable to handle the Philadelphia winds that whip like mad, pops out of shape like a rubber toy. (You all know what I'm talking about - when you see it happen to other people, it's like a comedy show. But when it happens to you, it's just plain embarrassing.) What he ended up with, mere weeks later, was a mess of little, delicate rods that were supposed to connect the cloth of the umbrella to the base, broken up and made completely dysfunctional by that same forceful weather that had thrashed our other umbrellas in and out of shape (but at least, I told him, they don't break entirely!). That umbrella went directly into the trash.

For some reason, I have been stubbornly avoiding buying another umbrella ever since. But we were in NYC this weekend, and were out on Saturday, hoping the drizzle wouldn't be able to stop us from making it to the new High Line Park where we planned a walk and a nice lunch. The rain, though, was just too much. We sopped it up for about 10 minutes before I caved and turned to a street vendor for whatever item he might have in his bag of tricks remotely resembling an umbrella. I bought what he handed to me for five dollars, no questions asked. It's small, but it'll definitely do. And when the wind blows on it, maybe I'll look ridiculous for a few moments, but at least I won't feel like I lost an investment. Now if I could have only gotten my shoes and socks dry for the day...