聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Our little granddaughter Casey doesn鈥檛 like it when it is raining outside. She chants, 鈥淩ain, rain, go away, Casey is going out to play!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The rain reminds me of when I first came to Canada and lived in Vancouver. Rain is more common than sunshine in that part of Canada. It rains only twice a year in Vancouver, but rain lasts from August through April and May through July. It is usually only a drizzle, but he first time I experienced a heavy downpour my friend said that it was 鈥榬aining cats and dogs.鈥� Of course being a bit na茂ve I had to take a look outside to check if that was true.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲here did that expression come from?鈥� I wondered. I asked around, but nobody could really tell me how the saying came to be. A couple of supposed origins say that the phrase is derived from various mythologies. Dogs and wolves were attendants to Odin, who was the god of storms, and Viking seafarers associated the dogs and wolves with rain. It was believed that witches often took the form of cats, especially black cats, and were supposed to ride with the wind. However, there does not appear to be any support for mythological origins, so I had to look elsewhere.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In Norway, the old mountain farms had thatched roofs. For the uninitiated, a Norwegian thatched roof was made of wood planks with sod on top for insulation, and of course grass grew there. Goats did at times jump up on the roof to graze, but the pigs never made it. A heavy downpour might cause even sure-footed goats to slide off the roof, but I had never heard any Norwegian saying that it rained goats!聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A thatched roof in England was constructed differently than Norwegian roofs, in as much as they were made of thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. That was where the little animals would camp out to keep warm. Therefore, all the pets like dogs and cats as well as mice, rats and bugs lived in the roof (not the ceiling). It often rains in England, and the roof would become slippery with a heavy downpour. Sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. This is the best I can do to explain the origin of the phrase 鈥渋t鈥檚 raining cats and dogs!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But when it gets colder the rain turns into snow, and that鈥檚 kind of flaky! Thankfully there are no cats or dogs involved in a heavy snowfall. A blizzard should not be confused with a whiteout. A聽blizzard聽is a severe snow聽storm聽with winds in excess of 35 miles (or 55 kilometres) per hour and visibility of less than a quarter of a mile (or 400 metres) for more than three hours.聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The word whiteout is often described in a telephone text message as OMGICSAFT (Oh my god I can鈥檛 see a friggen鈥� thing), to which a reply would be DBSPOAW (don鈥檛 be stupid, pull over and wait), followed by IHAHTW (I鈥檒l have a hot toddy waiting). TISH (that is so heavenly) would be the reply to that message. Of course after doing all this texting while driving he鈥檇 end up in the ditch texting TIDE (truck in ditch, Ethel). Well, Ethel is not who is being texted, but it looks good in the text message. TBA (too bad).
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 An Inuit might use different abbreviations in a whiteout, such as GAS (Ganik, aputi, siku, or 鈥渟now falling,鈥� 鈥渟now on the ground,鈥� and 鈥渋ce in general鈥�). I myself would take that to mean that they are having a gas, as in a good-time party, Inuit-style. Oh well!
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 We have all heard about Trump wanting to build a fence between Mexico and the US. What you didn鈥檛 know is that years ago North Dakotans got tired of leaning into the wind and seeing their topsoil blow away. And as a result of the cold wind their chickens were not laying eggs as they normally should. They figured the wind was continually coming down from Canada, and there was nothing to stop or divert the wind.聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The North Dakota governor called a meeting of all the farmers in the state. After a lengthy discussion a motion was made and carried that they would build a fence across the north border of the state of North Dakota. They all agreed that the fence should stop the cold wind. It could have worked, and the barbed wire (duh) that they used was indeed strong enough, but the wind kept on coming. A committee was struck to find out why the wind kept coming. Upon completion of the inspection the committee found that the reason for the continuing wind was that some of the farmers along the upper border kept leaving their gates open!
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A few stories to make you smile. Ole went up to the bar and ordered 21 shots of Akevitt, and downed them all as fast as he could. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the hurry?鈥� asked the bartender.聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淵ou鈥檇 drink fast as well, if you have what I have!鈥� answered Ole.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥h? What鈥檝e you got?鈥� inquires the bartender.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淛ust fifty cents!鈥� answered Ole.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽鈥淚鈥檓 going out!鈥� said Per.聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going out with those holes in your socks?鈥� asked his mother.聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淣o!鈥� answered Per, 鈥淚鈥檓 going out with Lena!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A little girl was spending the afternoon with her grandmother, and she coughed and spread germs all over the table. 鈥淲hen I cough,鈥� said the grandmother, 鈥淚 cover my mouth with my hand. That鈥檚 what you must do as well!鈥澛�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淣o,鈥� said the little girl, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to do that 鈥榗ause I don鈥檛 have dentures!鈥�
