New Orleans in the summertime means rain. And I don’t just mean a sprinkle here and there. We’re talking mean downpours at almost any time, big raindrops, soaking buckets of water. Now, I like riding my bike in the rain. There’s something so free about just letting yourself get wet. But I had to look like a professional today, and when the rain started, I feared I’d have to drive up to work, taking my car for the first time since my bicycle and I became acquainted. But the thing with rain here is that it can stop as suddenly as it starts, and that’s how today’s storm worked. So I wiped off my bicycle seat and headed to campus. Post-rain is a very specific type of weather here. The air is thick with wetness, and sometimes you can almost see the steam rising. Some parts of the street dry quickly while others can remain soggy for days. I snapped this shot of the lawn at Tulane on my way through campus. The sidewalk was dry as a bone, but water pools on lawns almost like sinkholes. And this was a short downpour, one I wouldn’t even remember, I don’t think, except for this picture and today’s ride. It always worries me a bit when I see this. Because there can be a whole lot more than a brief rainstorm in this place, and we’re all always living with the risk of floods. Today I both appreciated the beauty and feel of the rain as I sat on my porch with lunch and also was reminded, as I so often am, that this place is Atlantis.