I got to spend several months living in Kenya this past year, working with a kids' running program at the Tumaini Children's Home. The whole experience was incredible, and I miss the place and all my friends there as if it is home. I'm not much of a runner myself, though I do try hard at it. But these kids, geez! Some of the young ones especially! If they decide they want to work hard at it, they will be world-class. Period. No question at all. And the coach, Titus! It is always inspiring to me to meet someone who truly loves their job. And Titus truly does love running. Talk to him (or rather, listen to him) for 5 minutes and you won't doubt that.

But back to the picture: One day after a morning run that involved stepping in a few puddles, I left my shoes out to dry in the brilliant Equatorial morning sun. However, I was inside for a few hours and forgot to check the weather, and by the time I realized it was raining, my plan for drying them out had completely backfired. At least I got a cool photo out of it.

One cool thing about the rain (real rain, I mean, not our typical gray California drizzle; rain where you see the clouds blackening and feel the air pressure plummeting for an hour and just sit there knowing what's coming, and waiting in anticipation) is that it kind of makes the whole world stop. You don't have to be accountable to anything. You don't have to go back out for the afternoon run. You can head home from work early and read a book or watch football or a movie or play a game. You can just sit and watch the rain and pull for it to rain even a little harder. And when this happens, everyone has the same experience, which is unusual any more in our iPod world. You have a bond even with a complete stranger. "That rain yesterday was something, wasn't it!" "Here, come join us under this overhang. We can make space for you." It kind of puts everyone on the same level and reminds you that we are all human beings.