After a long stretch of rain, one local man expressed his gratitude for a 37-minute window of sunshine he enjoyed at Gas Works Park today.
“Doesn’t get much better than this! I got off work a little early and found myself a nice spot on the grass, Lake Union is shimmering in the sun, aaand it’s already raining,” said Kevin O’Connell, quickly repacking his cooler and heading home. “Ah well, it was fun while it lasted for exactly 37 minutes. I almost got the start of a little tan this time—I think I can even see a new freckle coming in. I’ll be back next week to try to tan my back during my next 37-minute session.”
With the constant threat of rain showers, O’Connell always makes sure to come prepared so that he can maximize the 37-minute window of glorious Seattle sunshine.
“When you’ve had all the color drained from your body after nine months of gray skies, the blistering sun can get a little toasty around minute 34 or 35, so I always bring a sun umbrella for those last couple minutes—not a rain umbrella mind you, we don’t do that here in Seattle,” said O’Connell, chuckling to himself while laying his Arc’teryx rain jacket out next to him. “And you gotta have tunes when you’re soaking up the sun, right? The 37-minute time constraint kinda limits me to mostly early Fugazi albums or the live version of 41 by Dave Matthews Band, but I make it work.”
Meanwhile across the city, Seattle-area dads were seen running panicked around their yards working furiously to squeeze in a week’s worth of lawn care into the 37-minute sun window.
