While it is true that all men are created equal, the same
cannot be said of the umbrella. Before I moved to Papua New Guinea (PNG), I had
a cute little fold-up umbrella that was more than adequate for a short jaunt to
the car or to run into Target. In fact, I rarely used it—it was just too much
of a hassle to deal with—up, down, in, out, drip, drip, drip.
Then I moved halfway around the world to a country that has
two seasons—rainy and dry. In the rainy season, it rains pretty much every day, at about the same time each day.
In the dry season…well, it rains pretty much every day, randomly throughout the day. So with all the rain
around here, one needs a good umbrella. But what constitutes a good umbrella?
