Weather on the Coast

"I think we're going to get a little rain," said Andy. "We need it; it's been a couple minutes."

Moments later, Andy rested his eyes, while I held Kleenex against the door molding where it leaked on my right shoulder and watched the sheets of water splay across the windshield. Soon the car was steamed up, and we could barely see the state workers outside as they continued to cut and clear brush at Governor Patterson Memorial Beachside. When the tree was down and in pieces, one middle-aged worker systematically carried piece by piece, branch by branch to the edge of the wayside and tossed them over onto the beach and into the surf. It struck me as so useless, with a campground nearby and driftwood already clogging so many of the inlets. We sat in the car, watching him work. He disregarded the downpour and continued his labors.

"I know one thing about the weather here," said Andy. "You've got to use the decent weather when you have it, because you don't know what the next half hour is going to bring."