Umbrella: friend or foe?

We are currently experiencing a “storm system” according to Environment Canada. Yesterday when the storm started, several people on the street immediately took out their umbrellas to protect themselves from the precipitation – but for some of them, their umbrella’s did not want to cooperate. The wind either flipped their umbrella’s inside out (becoming rain collectors instead of deflectors), or made the people airborne like Mary Poppins (I saw it with my own eyes!).

It got me thinking about the umbrella – is it a friend, or a foe? I like umbrellas because they keep you dry, and they serve as a cocoon from the rest of the world. When you’ve got your umbrella out – you have more personal space while walking. You can also use them in the summer to provide shade. But the weather has to be just right in order to use an umbrella effectively. The slightest gust of wind will make handling the umbrella more work than it’s worth (as the people I saw yesterday would tell you). My colleague Emily worked in Denmark - where apparently because of the wind, the rain comes in horizontally. The umbrella would not be very useful there.

Then there is the issue of umbrella storage. After using the umbrella in wet weather, what do you do with it when you go indoors or in the subway? That narrow sleeve that comes with the umbrella is useless when the umbrella is wet. If you store the umbrella while wet, the next time you open it you have a soggy, nylon fabric drape - not an umbrella! Some people refuse to use umbrellas and wear waterproof coats instead – like fishermen. I guess it is difficult to pull in drift nets while wrestling with a brolly on the open seas.