The Rains - A Novel

Let me preface this work of mine by saying, "I think I should put my money where my mouth is." I talk a good game, but can I deliver? Lets see shall we. This is a story I've been writing and editing for over 20 years. Hopefully in that time frame I've grown as a writer. A friend of mine, whom I went to college with started this tale and asked me to help him with it. For a long time it sat in my closet, until I just recently dug it out again. Ever since I joined Hubpages, I've been thinking of this manuscript, and I thought it might be a good time to pull it out and see if anyone out there would have a comment on it or not. Or if it should be scrapped, and started again with a new premise. Tell me what you think, Okay? If I get enough feedback, I'll continue with it. If not . . .

This is what writers do to see if an audience would be interested in his/her work. Its nothing new. I just thought I'd cast my line into the pond and see if I got any nibbles.

IN THESE MATTERS, THE ONLY CERTAINTY IS THAT THERE IS NOTHING CERTAIN. - PLINY THE ELDER

I DON'T ALWAYS KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR ME, BUT, I ALWAYS KNOW WHAT I DON'T WANT. - S.A.

"Good evening, Kansas City. On this day of May, 2015. This is Jim Thompson with a special news update on the 'Acid Rains' currently spreading across the continents of Europe and Asia.

"Our correspondent in Hong Kong, Robert Janner, reports most of the southern area of Mainland China is devastated, and that the clouds causing it are spreading at an alarming rate, destroying everything in its path.

"Correspondent, William Barnes, assigned to our southern European office has not reported in at this time. Executives of that branch are afraid he may have been caught in the rains, now spreading across France at last reports.

"Also, amateur radio operators in various locals in the U.S. have been in contact with their counterparts in Italy and England, and based on these, as yet, unconfirmed reports, the "Acid Rains" have taken a terrible toll in lives throughout most of the European continent, the Mediterranean, and in Northern Africa.

"The Swedish merchant ship, Jannessen Express, signaled it was enveloped in a dense rain cloud two hundred and fifty miles south-southeast of Rio de Janeiro. Reception of it's signal was interrupted in mid transmission, and as of this time, authorities have not been able to re-establish contact. Units of the Brazilian Navy are scouring the area for possible wreckage, and survivors, if any. The world waits at this time for any further reports.

"The President's Press Secretary, Jerry Marshall, in an attempt to calm the nation has issued a statement denying the possibility of the rains reaching the American continent. The statement reads: 'The Gulf Stream will dissipate any and all rain clouds prior to their landfall on the East Coast.'

"All over the world, official reports on how the acid rains started have been both confusing and conflicting. Debates over this subject are still going on, not only in  the U.K. parliament, the U.S. Congress, and various scientific bodies, but in every home, office and shopping mall.

"Although debate over how, or why this has happened is still going on, one of the most popular theories is that because of the lessening of the ozone layer around the Earth,  due to industrial toxins pumped into the atmosphere over the years, deadly ultra-violet rays have been allowed to enter; thus interacting with a myriad of pollutants, thereby causing a chemical reaction within cloud strata, producing these horrendous Acid Rain storms.

"Acid Rains have been falling for many years in the upper northeast portions of the United States, with no end in sight. The only clear way to stop those storms was, and is, to stop the factories throwing those cocktails into the air. In the past decade, many steps have been made to do just that, but it may have been too little too late to help us.

"In this reporters opinion, the President is guilty of trying to lull the American people into a false sense of security. Which has always been the case with our President in a national crisis. I have personally been in contact with meteorologists, geologists, and other experts in the fields of weather and its effects on the world, and the general opinion of all are that the fires now raging out of control around the world, due to these 'Acid Rain' squalls, will, and can, have an adverse effect on the weather conditions worldwide. The Gulf Stream in the Atlantic, and the trade winds in the Pacific, could conceivably change from their present paths. Paths which are not foreseeable at this time. In the past, a single volcanic eruption has caused drastic changes in wind currents. And the consensus is that at any time, any number of active volcanoes surrounding the so-called Ring of Fire around the world, should erupt, this would have catastrophic effects for humanity, blowing these rains our way.

"Please, be careful out there, watch the skies, take cover if necessary, and thank you, this has been a special report from WDAF, AM 1390 on your dial. I'm Jim Thompson. This station will remain on the air continuously for your safety, and for further updates as they come in."

Friendship is almost always the union of part of one, mixed with a part of another: people are friends in spots. - George Santerford

If you are my friend, pull always with me, never against me. - S.A.

Part 1 . . . . .

"Well, Kurt, what do you think about that shit?"

"I think it's about time we seriously started looking for a way out of this cell, Sean."

That's it for now. Do you want more?

Happy reading!