Where Did The Name Raining Iguanas Come From?

Where Did The Name Raining Iguanas Come From? 
By John R. Greenwood

This blog was born while waiting for the sun to come out and warm my spirit back to life. Just as the buds of these patient geraniums appear stalled, my mind and spirit were at a point where they were frozen and unable to function. 

It was a morning much like today where the sun was as lost as I was. I opened the newspaper and began to read an article about iguanas in Florida. When the temperatures would drop into the thirties they would freeze and go into a state of suspended animation. They would lose their grip on the branches and begin to fall like rain. It was at that moment I felt a connection to those cold ashen colored iguanas. They say if the sun comes out and warms the iguanas they will survive. If it remains cold too long they will die grey and colorless. 

I decided that day in 2008 to find the sun wherever it might be and save my own life. I needed something to express how precious the gift of life is. I began to write and share. I sought out inspiration wherever I could. I found it in bookstores and book readings. I found it in writers, photographers, and in my own backyard. Something changed that day. Today as the geranium buds and I wait for the sun I am feeling a little damp in spirit. I hadn't written anything in a few days. Work was hectic and weighing me down a little. Life was streaming on around me and I felt a little stuck. I stood there looking out my picture window and I seemed to connect to those waiting buds. I imagined how beautiful those flower boxes will be in a few days when the sun shows up and coaxes them into an all out flower show. That is how life works. If we were in the second week of a baking summer sun with no rain and crusty lawns, we would be praying for rain. We can't simply enjoy the collection, we are impatient and want each piece to be perfect. It doesn't work that way. Inside we know it, but sometimes we can't see it. As I placed myself back at the dining room table some five years ago I thought of all the wonderful experiences I have enjoyed since that day. I tallied the number of supportive and inspiring connections I'd made in the process. I realized how fortunate I am that I know where to find the sun when it goes into hiding. I find it on the keypad, on a pad of paper, in my camera, on a wooded trail, or in the parking lot of the grocery store. It doesn't always show up when you beckon it. There are days when you just have to go find it. Today it was right there in the picture window. My coffee tastes better now that I have that off my chest. I feel a little more optimistic about heading in to work. I am looking forward to posting a photo of Mrs. G's geraniums later this week when sunshine decides to show up and stay awhile.



Here we grow!