Today was a beautiful day. The sun was blazing, sky was clear. Cameron and I decided to go for a bike ride. We knew that the river drives (two main roads that go along either side of the Schuykill river in Philadelphia) were closed yesterday due to flooding, but it seemed like such a perfect day that we decided to go along our normal route on the east side of the river. We had almost reached the falls bridge when our ride ended. The bike path and the road that ran beside it had become one with the river. It was like a scene from An Inconvenient Truth had found its way into our real lives. Joggers, rollerbladers, cyclists, and dog walkers were stopped in their tracks. We turned around with the rest of them, and headed back towards home. A drip, then another. Suddenly, out of the clear blue sky, it was pouring down enormous rain drops. We found shelter in the waterworks, the neoclassical fortress that welcomes you to Philadelphia. People came running from all directions, forming a community of shelter-seekers. The rain poured down and splashed in the river, and lightening bolts darted across the sky, but the sun continued to shine, and a rainbow appeared over the art museum. I was reminded of the “postmodern sunsets” from Don Delillo’s White Noise. But it was beautiful.

technorati tags:Philadelphia, Global Warming, Rain, Flooding, An Inconvenient Truth