Ifinally broke down and did it.

Following days of rain and with wet socks on my feet from rain water seeping through my shoes, I went ahead and ordered a pair of rain boots, or I guess what you typically call duck boots. They haven’t arrived yet, but I am readily awaiting them showing up at my door.

I have moved around a lot over the years (makes me sound old), but I am not sure I have ever lived anywhere that is this insistently wet.

The closest I have come was during my year abroad living in Spain. I was in the Northwest in the region Galicia in a little town named Tui (you should Google it, there is a cool cathedral). Galicia has a lot of Celtic influence in the culture and you can see why they were comfortable there. It is green and rains like Ireland.

It rained all the time there and always unexpectedly. I would try to time it for my expeditions into the outside world, but inevitably I was usually wrong.

The best (or maybe worst) was the time that a random rainstorm forced me to get stuck in Portugal. Yes, you read that right I was stuck in a different country due to rain.

Tui is right on the border with Portugal and going back and forth is the exact same as going from Vicksburg to Tallulah. There is a river in the middle and you walk or drive across.

I would make the walk from time to time (the grocery store in Portugal had a cheaper, bigger tub of ice cream available that I “smuggled” across the border). On this particular excursion I was shopping for sheets, which were cheaper in Portugal.

I hadn’t been there long (see having no sheets for my bed as a reference to the timeline) and was inadequately prepared for the weather.

Then the heavens opened, and I did the only thing I could. I bought a cheap Portuguese umbrella, waited for a lull in the storm and made the 20 minute walk back to my apartment with my new sheets.

That umbrella proved to be the best 5 Euros I spent in Europe and became a constant companion during my time in Spain.

I do wish I had it now, because it just won’t stop raining.

I was Skyping with a friend from college the other night, who conveniently has a master’s in meteorology and began telling him about my weather woes.

The multiple storms that have knocked out my power, the rain in Arkansas that contributed to the river flooding that prolonged the water crisis and the ever-present rain — he had all the technical answers about the weather patterns. I think there was something about breezes from the coast, the river impacting something about wind and maybe some geography thrown in. Yeah, so maybe I didn’t quite grasp my quick weather lesson, but I think I got the point. My socks were wet and the duck boots will prove to be worth it.
Brandon O’Connor is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach him at brandon.oconnor@vicksburgpost.com.