It Never Rains...

The Muny, the outdoor musical theater in St. Louis, performs throughout the summer and prides itself on the rarity of cancellations. At the very top of the amphitheater, several rows are fenced off for free seating. You arrive an hour or two early and get to watch the show for free!

Always being up for free stuff, Triss, Byrd, Meemaw, and I picnicked in line outside the Muny to watch Beauty and the Beast last night. As the time to open the gates approached, so did some pretty vicious looking storm clouds. Meemaw pulled up the weather on her phone and gave a more optimistic interpretation of the radar than any meteorologist would have. They opened the gates; we filed in.

The four of us got the seats at the very front of the free section. There is literally a green metal railing between one row of seat and the next, marking off the free section. Even though I know it was there for very pragmatic and legitimate purposes, it gave me an odd feeling and made me think about the days of segregation. It would have worked just like this : different entrances, a railing in between, different treatment. Again, it makes sense when people are coming in for free versus paying a healthy sum to get in; it just feels strange knowing that at one point, such divisions were artibrary.

As I was marveling at images of discrimination, the red blips on Meemaw's weather radar were rapidly converging above us. When I looked up, the wind was rushing clouds at us at break-neck speed. Watching them felt like a ride at an amusement park. The dark clouds streaming above the picturesquely forested stage created a stunning image, especially with the beauty of Forest Park behind the stage. Then Byrd pointed out the line of rain.

It hit us in large drops, scattered at first, so that dark stains appeared on my jeans and shocked my face. Then, as if the clouds had been testing us and found us worthy, they picked up with such enthusiasm that within minutes we would have drown, had not a mother and daughter behind us held their umbrellas over us. As the rain kept up, they handed us the umbrellas and huddled in their ponchos.

God continued the rain, to varying degrees, for the next two hours. He also put on one of the most gorgeous light shows to grace the planet, sending brilliant lines of energy across a sky that lit to shades of violet, blue, and red.

And we were there on a night that made history. Although we did not stick it out until 9:30, which is the earliest they would cancel, they did call off the show.