3280. Bad weather © Bruce Goodman 28 July 2025

Marion had no idea why heavy rain and cold was referred to as “bad weather” but stinking hot, sweaty, intolerable humid weather was never called “bad weather”. Even if everything in the garden had shrivelled up, and Great Aunt Constantia had succumbed to heat stroke, and the wealthy Thompson-Barakat Family had to go to their holiday home in temperate Alaska… - even after all these things it still wasn’t called “bad weather”. Marion thought she would change all that. It takes only one person to start a storm, and she would get “bad weather” to mean hot or cold, wet or dry. If it was bad it was bad. She would begin with the relatives. Her cousin and family were coming to stay for a week. She told them on the phone to “be prepared for bad weather”. They arrived with no swimming gear nor surf boards but with winter coats and umbrellas. “You said bad weather,” complained the cousins. “We came here to escape the heat and look at us sweating like pigs.” Well, what a to do! Marion had to give up her campaign to include sweltering weather under the heading of “bad weather”. And the author of this story realized that it was going nowhere and was inextricably stuck for an ending. Contact Author Back to Index Next Story Previous Story