"Uhm. It just rained really, really hard."

Tammie thought I was just trying to get out of riding after work. While it stormed in our area, it merely sprinkled where she was fifteen miles away. Perhaps the storm was still on its way out there.

"I got really, really wet." I did. I tried to explain how I couldn't be more wet; how trying to cross the cobblestoned surface of Germantown avenue was more akin to fording a raging river than simply catching the bus home.

I didn't realize how bad it was until we saw the news later that evening. Trees were felled, cars were pinned, a teen was struck by lightning.

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I had to deposit the check today; it becomes void tomorrow. It is really the only reason I braved the rain. And that's how I ended up in the middle of a—how do you say—torrential downpour.

It's the rebate check from purchasing our washer and dryer from the Home Depot. We got the appliances in January, but it took a couple of months, some persistence, and sending in the same paperwork twice for the rebate department to finally give up the check.

It's just one of our incentives for splurging on the front-loader. The other is a $200 gift card which we have yet to receive. After six months, I'm not sure if we'll ever see it. Who do we cry to for things like this?

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This is how much I love my dog.

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