Singleton talks of the welcomed relief from raindrops in hot, dry weather

George Buster Singleton

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “In hot, dry weather raindrops a welcomed relief,” was originally published in the June 23, 1977 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

I don’t think that anything affects man as hot, dry weather does. When a person is hot and the perspiration begins to run down into his eyes, this is most uncomfortable.

This was the situation I was faced with the other afternoon as I was riding my trail bike near the Bradley Ridge area. The dust on the trails was about two inches deep, and the woods looked as though there wasn’t a drop of water anywhere except the perspiration that was running from under my helmet into my eyes.

But things were to change for the better real soon. The Creator of all things must have felt sorry for me, because before long the sun went behind a cloud and thunder began to rumble in the distance.

Relief on the way

I knew that relief was on the way. I knew that before long, I would take part in a ritual that I had practiced since I was a small boy.

As the clouds darkened and the rain began to fall, I stripped to the waist, pulled off my shoes, and found an open spot in the timber when the rain could come down. I stood there with arms outstretched, feeling the cool, soft water as it splashed against my face, shoulders and chest.

There is no way I can explain the wonderful feeling that comes over a person’s body as the life-giving water splashes and washes the dust and perspiration from the tired and dirty surface of the skin.

But to stand there and feel the soft raindrops is something few can understand. To raise my arms skyward and look into the heavens reassures me that God is ever-present and He will supply our needs, whether they be large or small. And I shall be content with His blessings and never question His judgement.

I know that regardless of how dry and hot it gets, the rains will come and the earth will become green again – just as He promised.

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, was bitten at least twice by venomous snakes, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He also helped organize the Monroe County Museum and Historical Society and was also a past president of that organization. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)