This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.
There is local geological evidence that the Great Deluge began at Rock Island. God practiced flooding the Mississippi River before sending Noah on his lonely voyage atop the world.
That may be just a story, but we Rock Islanders can support our claim that all rains are first tested here before being released to the world at large. If we approve of a new rain, it might then be sent on to Vermont, or Singapore, or Tonga, a permanent part of the whole repertoire.
The truth is, we always approve every rain. Rock Islanders have a saying: "You see one sunshiny day, you've seen them all, but every rain is different." We have rains that are flute solos and others that are exquisitely orchestrated symphonies, with the quartets, trios, overtures, and chamber group rains in-between. We have epic rains and novel rains, as well as lyrics, ode rains, comedies and tragedies, and short story rains.
Rains play the river like a violin from single notes to arpeggios. Stay with us a while and you will experience the freezing November rains that turn the trees to crystal, the soft spring rains that waken seeds, or the morel mushroom rain that comes unannounced once each May. All the rains come in turn, the gully washer, the mist that you can feel only against your cheeks as you walk.
What's your pleasure? We've got it. No place on earth can duplicate our showers, our sprinkles, our freshets, our river fogs and hazes and vapors, our thunderstorms and torrents and cloudbursts, our sprays and drizzles. Rains for every mood, fretful rains that spit and stall, steady rains, playful rains that play tag with umbrella-less people. Rains that pelt and slide and slip down picture windows or that trickle, and leak from roof edges, rains that percolate and sting, rains that drip and drop into brooks and rills and creeks and rivulets.
You say you've invented a new rain? Bring it on over to Rock Island and we'll test it out, and let you know if you've got a winner.
Rock Island Lines with Roald Tweet is underwritten by Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
