Soft Summer Rain

Published: Aug. 26, 2007, noon

b'Hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, heatwaves and ice storms get all the press. But it&s the soft, late summer rains, that make the holy water and mixed drinks of our lives. They calm us down better than any purple pill. They wash the air, and dissolve our inhibitions. Many a "relaxing moment" has been turned into a "right moment" in a soft late summer rain. This one happened right on my back deck.'