Making it Rain

In Indiana when a farmer needs rain he mows down hay, that will usually do it the temptation to allow this hay to be cured and put up in perfect order is too much of a temptation to the rain makers....We are under water restrictions here and so I am going to make it rain for the next couple days I will wax my motor home...That should do it...

So I am taking a break, a luxury I have because I have reserve stories. And I want to get this one out there anyway. I wrote it a few years back, and it was published in a book by about a dozen writers of short stories. If you have read it go wax a vehicle, or scoop some snow...if you have not, enjoy it, as it is how I met the gal I lost last April...and also tells of some lessons I learned in El Salvadore.

It is written in third person I think they call it, not sure why I guess I wanted to protect the guilty maybe. I don't even know why I am hiding behind the pen name here of happy hoosier, maybe again to protect the guilty. So just to set you straight the charactor Jane is my sweetie of 29 years and 3 months Linda. The charactor Bill is me happy hoosier aka Jack.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR



Bill had been divorced a year or so. He had been out there visiting a few night spots when time allowed from his duties as a father. Blind dates had not yielded much more to fill the emptiness than the night spots. Oh,family life and work is the main thing anyway he thought and besides maybe he just needed a short vacation that was being offered to him by his employer. A short 5 day trip to El Salvador would be fun he thought. He signed up, never been there before, why not. Nice break from farming and seed sales and this hidden quest for a new companion, he thought. His employer Northrup King Seeds would be flying an entire plane load of seed salesman there. What could be any safer or more fun than a peaceful little country like that?.

January 12, 1979 came and the day to fly off for Bill's vacation. His brother Bob took him to the annual Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry before dropping him off at the Purdue University airport for a short flight to Chicago late afternoon, and then the next morning he will be on his way to sunny San Salvador, El Salvador. He sat waiting after checking his bags for the flight, maybe 15 minutes to go till the 4 o’clock flight time. A blonde "looker" comes through the door and hits the check-in counter. Bill scans her but thinks not a lot about her, but did notice that only a couple empty chairs remaining were near him. He would get a good look at the "looker" as soon as she needs a seat. The gal checks in and turns to look for a seat and then sits down only two chairs from Bill. Not bad he thinks, too bad this chick is not going to El Salvador his mind dreams. He notices her nervousness as she sets down and whips out some knitting work. A rubber stopper flies off the needle and Bill thinks quick. Retrieve this you idiot before some other bozo does, why not, no one knows him, take a chance, go for it. Three men go for the stopper but Bill has the quickness and drive needed to recover the fumble. He brings it back and hands it to the lady who smiles and say's, "thank you". "Your welcome", Bill say's, and settles back into his seat.

Only flight leaving that afternoon is to Chicago but Bill finally musters the courage to get the lady's attention and asks, "are you flying to Chicago"? The reply is "Yes", as Bill knew it would be. Silence sets in, as Bill assumes others in ear range have assumed him an idiot. The flight is called and all in the room walk out to the small prop plane. Bill just happens to get himself in line behind the "blonde looker" in the black leather coat. The plane is small, so small in fact that one must bend over at almost 90 degrees to walk down the aisle to the single seats on each side of the plane. All Bill sees now is the rear of that leather coat. Oh, heavens, he thinks as he follows the coat that rides up quite a bit with the bending over, this gal also has legs, and they are running from her shoes all the way to, well to where the coat stops the peep show.

The gal sits on the port side of the plane and luck seems to be liking Bill as he molds himself into the empty seat on the starboard side. The roar of the engines require more volume as Bill ask her, "Are you staying in Chicago"? "Well yes" she says. Silence finally breaks again when Bill says, "well I am flying to El Salvador in the morning". "Wow, that's sounds like a warmer place to be going", she says. "Yeal, they say its 90 during the day there", "Are you married", Bill asked. "No are you", she reply's?

The noisy flight finds them exchanging where they live in their home town, what they do, what kind of cars they have. And of course her name, he finds is Jane and lets her know he is Bill. She figures he is really married but not sure. Bill is figuring with his luck so far this gal will be staying in the same hotel, why not? The plane lands, Bill gets up the nerve to bring up the possibility that they could maybe have dinner together, "Where are you staying he ask?" She tells him, and Bill has not a clue where that is or where his hotel is either. He thinks fast and says, "do you maybe have a phone number at your hotel that after I find out where I am etc., that maybe I could check and see what your plans are"? Jane tells him that she may have here meals included in her package. But Bill gets the phone number and bids her goodbye and promises to call in an hour or so if things work out OK after his hotel check in. He thinks, hey, the main thing here is getting checked in for my little vacation but after that, well who knows love may just be "in the air".

To be continued