the red umbrella

July 18, 2003

The long awaited cold front arrived with a bang in the wee hours this morning. It woke me right up from a sound sleep. That was one loud bang! I checked the kitchen where I'd left the stubbornly still wet shirt to dry in front of the window. Although the window was flapping a little in the wind, there was nothing that could have made that sound. I turned on the light in the bathroom and discovered the screen window smack in the middle of the bathroom floor. It had blown right out of the window frame. The whole thing was just lying there on the floor. One corner of the mesh had ripped free from its wooden frame and the bottom part of the frame has separated from the sides. I was able to sort of shove the bottom part of the frame back together but had no way to reattach the mesh. I shoved the whole thing back in the window and hoped it would stay put.

When I woke up this morning, the bathroom window was still in place and it was pouring rain outside. I searched high and low for an umbrella but found none in the apartment. I resigned myself to a wet walk to the train. Old women and children looked at me like I was insane. They all had umbrellas. I passed shops selling stationery, paint, knives, lamps, ice cream, plumbing supplies, sports equipment and, of course, auto parts but no umbrellas! So I got wet, slightly wetter than I'd been yesterday from the heat and humidity.

At Deák tér, I decided I would go no further until I had an umbrella. Fortunately one of the shops in the station sold them -- for a king's ransom! 2300 forints! It's big and red and really nice. I'll be dry and stylish too.

While I was looking for umbrella shops, I noticed a small bookstall. Once I had completed the umbrella mission, I went back to the bookstall. They had one shelf of English books and one of French. The English shelf seemed to be mostly devoted to Harry Potter. I suppose I could have given in and finally read all the Harry Potter books, but why? I finally picked The Hours by Michael Cunningham. It was that or Tartuffe and I really like Michael Cunningham's writing. It's the movie tie-in edition with Meryl Streep on the cover. Good subway reading.

The rain stopped by evening. On the way home tonight, a little earlier than usual, the tram pulled within sightof the Chain Bridge just at the moment when the lights came on. What a lovely sight!

Today's Reading
The Hours by Michael Cunningham

This Year's Reading
2003 Book List

Photos:

Botanical Department Window