The Rain Man

As I rounded a lap in the Y pool, a guy asked if he and a friend could join me. "Sure," I said.

It was evident that his fiend was mentally challenged. Bob introduced himself and whispered, "Mike is the Rain Man."

"How so?" I inquired.

"Oh, he remembers everything--days, dates, times...and weather--he doesn't like Seattle weather where he lives, but remembers it in detail." Bob went on to tell me that Mike is an uncle of his wife and visits every summer to give relief to Mike's caretaker sister. Bob and I swam; Mike water-walked.

After our swim, Mike and I were in the shower; just what do you say to the Rain Man?

"Hey, Mike, when did you come to Colorado Springs?"

"Thursday, June 7, 2012, at ah, ah, 4:32 p.m. on Alaska Airlines Flight 632. I am leaving on Friday, June 22, 2012, at 7:00 a.m. on Alaska Airlines Flight 2442. On October 31, 2011 I visited my niece, my niece, in Spokane. It was Halloween, a Monday, a Monday, uh, seven months, two weeks and one day ago."

I said, "My daughter and family live in Wenatchee and are moving to Spokane."

"Yeah, I took the bus back from Spokane to Seattle on November 15, 2011, ah 213 days ago. I went through Moses Lake--lots of sun, Quncy, Wenatchee--it was cloudy there, Leavenworth, into the Cascade Mountains over Stevens Pass and into Seattle."

"Mike, I was born May 23, 1941. Do you know what day that was?

"Ah, May 23, 1941...ah, ah, that was a Friday...ah, ah, 71 years, three weeks and one day ago."

As I dressed, Mike continued to tell me in explicit detail of his past several years. His conversation was interspersed with "Got to get the key to this locker from Bob, got to get the key, from Bob, from Bob."

I will always remember the Rain Man.