In the mid-eighties the discussion of how to understand an old native american proverb (the 80s had me relate to all kinds of holistic, occult and alternative lifestyles and ideologies, thus in particular raising the feeling of an immense pluralism, or more correct: an immense anything goes feeling, why I think nowadays populistic solutions to complex questions seems to fullfill a need for simple answers), at more than one occation almost threatened to dissolve my (our) striving new-rock band DIE ENDE.

The proverb goes like this: You cant runaway from the rain.
I for one understood the proverb like this: It doesnt matter if you walk or run from point A to B in an even amount of rain, you will eventually be evenly wet. My opponents insisted, that running that same distance always would make you less wet.

That was the juxtaposition: It dragged on night after night in the reharsalroom. We never agreed, the band finally split up, not because of the discussion, more because of the 80s, I think.
Years later it occured to me the right way of understading the proverb is this: If it rains, and you are outside, you get wet. The question is not how wet you get, but the fact that you do get wet. In other words: there is no free lunch.
I tried selling this interpretation to the remaining members of the band some months ago. The discussion hit the ceiling within minutes. I always, with the precision of a neurotic clockwork, get this memory when it rains, as I did today, I had it cycling in the rain.

People running, people being busy. People being wet. Very wet.