And then it rained

Sometimes I believe that I really do have power over the weather.

Most notably, I try to do it on summer days when there's a 95% chance of rain in the forecast and a thick gray cloud-cover overhead.

On these days, I wear my sunglasses atop my hat, always prepared to pull them down when the sun comes out. Most of the other camp counselors leave their sunglasses in their cars on these days, but I -- I don't. I keeping telling myself that I, single-handedly, can have enough positive energy to break through the clouds. And when one other counselor joins me in my quest to keep away the rain, no amount of meteorological science or super-natural being can rain on us -- both literally and figuratively.

You'd be surprised how many times my reverse-Murphy's Law (prepare for sunshine and sunshine will happen) actually works.

This summer, there was one such mother who kept asking me for favors -- most I could promise, like getting her daughter into sailing for an activity or making sure she gets on the bus to go home with her best friend -- and some I could not and promised anyway. This was the Friday morning, "Alexander; can you keep the rain away today?" request. I told her I'd make a call.

One of my compatriots looked at me, stunned. "Who are you going to call?" I snapped back quickly, "I'm Jewish; I know people."

I put my sunglasses on, despite the lack of necessity for them, and an hour later -- poof, sunshine.

Okay -- it may not have gotten sunny, I do not remember, but I DO know with 100% sure-ness that it did NOT rain that day.

More stunning to me is when my emotions tend to dictate (or predict, more accurately) the poor weather. (Which is, ironically, pouring!) (I'll pause while you collectively groan at the bad pun.)

Today was one of those days.

I enjoyed my day, for the most part. And the weather was beautiful, for the most part. And then, as my day wound down and I was venting on the phone to my brother about how some people (both specifically and generally speaking) just annoy me and had been for the preceding two hours.

Within minutes of this conversation, the heavens opened and it poured down on me.

I can't help but think that had I kept my mouth shut for another 5 minutes, I would have made it home from the subway dry. That my negative energy was the straw that broke Mother Nature's back.

Okay -- I know that scientifically speaking, this post has no factual merits aside from total coincidental occurrences of me wearing sunglasses and then sun coming out or me getting frustrated with people and it raining, but isn't it neat to think that maybe my sunglasses do call the sun out to play?

Or maybe I just do know who to call when I need a weather-related favor...but I'm not telling.