“Real Seattleites don’t use umbrellas.”
So what qualifies as a ‘real Seattleite”?
I’ve lived here for 9 years, but am not a native of Washington State. Does that make me a faux Seattleite?
Anyway, I NEVER use an umbrella, for two three reasons:
1. They’re more of a pain in the ass than a help. One more nasty wet thing to worry about, yay! NOT.
2. When it rains here, it’s rarely a downpour. More often it’s a soft, misty rain.
3. I play soccer year round in that shit. I DO NOT NEED AN UMBRELLA.
I guess that makes me a rain hard-ass or something.
Ha! Good on ya. Similarly – people often stare at me and ask, “Why aren’t you wearing a coat?!” Duh – ‘cuz 20 degrees ain’t cold. When the temps drop below zero, then I’ll consider it.
We call it a dry rain, though sometimes it is a little less than dry and those times may require a hat.
Most of the time when I use an umbrella, it just gets turned inside out by the wind. A waste of money AND ya look like a dork!
I don’t know what makes one a Seattlite, but I loathe the umbrella. They are downright dangerous! Plus, what do you do with it when it’s a sodding mess? It took me living here for 5 years before I even got a real rain coat. Of course, weather patterns have changed, and concessions must be made, but umbrellas are a pain.
They are, Jill.
I am short so walking on a sidewalk filled with umbrella-wielding commuters is a dodgy business. It’s a miracle I haven’t been blinded!
What Uppity said, plus twenty percent, since we have that much more wind down here on the prairie. I’ve lost three umbrellas to this sort of destructive inversion.
(Then again, I look like a dork, umbrella or not.)