Or umbrellas, or brollys, or whatever the kids are saying nowadays.
Two questions:
How often do you replace your umbrella (which you use regularly)? I just got a new one in August and it broke today. Is it really so unreasonable to want an umbrella to last more than a few months with regular use?
Do you have any recs for a good small umbrella–no more than about nine or ten inches long when folded up? I used to have one made by Totes, but it popped a spring or something about six months into owning it, and the handle broke into two pieces. My most recent broken umbrella is from London Fog–Clipper Mist is the model, and it too is toast.
Any help, please, for a Doper who’s only happy when it doesn’t rain?
Mine’s a pretty yellow-and-blue London Fog umbrella with a button to open *and *close it. I absolutely love it and it’s into its third year. One of the ribs has a loose hinge after a bad windstorm flipped the umbrella inside-out last spring, but everything’s still working fine and keeping me dry.
The only downside is that it’s a little heavier than the non-pushbutton models, but the one-hand closing is pretty important to me because I often have my hands full at the bus stop and need to close it quick.
Oh, and a message to the general public: Please stop buying black umbrellas. Rainy days are already depressing enough without having to see that dark cloud of hundreds of black umbrellas hovering over the sidewalk.
the GutterBumberChute, da da dadada, GutterBumberChute…
the right people will get it…
actually i finally did pick up an umbrella, just to keep in the car “just in case”, it came in handy in the Nor’Easter today
it’s a Brookstone “Family Umbrella” oversized umbrella, automatic opening AND closing (push a button to open it, push the button again to collapse the canopy, manually collapse the stem thingy into itself) vented canopy (allows wind to pass thru, reducing the chances for the canopy collapsing or reversing, and a retro-reflective piping strip
In the Spring, when the first bumblebees come out of hibernation and begin to plant their seeds, soon after the crocus blossoms and just before the first dandelions, you will begin to see the first young bumber shoots spring up in the lawn. . . .
Oh! OK. yeeesh
I suspect that the principal answer to the OP will be found on the $9.99 racks at the local supermarkets and drug stores. A well-built umbrella might cost three times that much, but the cheaper ones are so plentiful that many of us forget that there is a reason why a good umbrella costs more.
Ok, where in the hell is the word bumbershoot current/ where was it ever current? The only time I’ve heard it is in relation to the music festival-- when was this term in style and in what region/s? I’ve only recently learned what it means but I have no clue.
I’ve had my current umbrella for 13 or 14 years now. It was a really cheap one I picked up at a drug store when caught in an unexpected rainstorm, and it’s turned out to be the most durable umbrella I’ve ever run across. Antigen will be pleased to hear that it isn’t black - it’s covered in penguins wearing little red bowties. I suspect that that has helped me not lose it, since it’s not likely to get mixed up with anyone else’s.
I have no idea where people use the word bumbershoot. I know what it means (aside from the music festival), but I never actually call an umbrella a bumbershoot.
There are umbrellas all over this house. One, I bought from a street vendor in NYC on 5th Ave during a cloud burst in 1977. Still works, if I could find it. There are give aways that my husband brings home, most don’t get used much, since they have advertizing on them.
I have one I bought from a street vendor in Amsterdam during a hurricane in 1986, It still works, but its a bit tattered. It has a little secret compartment for bus fare.
I bought one last spring during a downpour right here in Seattle, but not from a street vendor, but at a QFC (that would be a grocery store to those not in the loop) That one folds up tiny, about 5" long said and done, but I can’t find it.
I keep buying crap two-dollar umbrellas that I either lose, or that get flipped inside-out in a heavy wind and become completely useless. I have yet to find a good umbrella. Actually, that’s because I’m not willing to spend more than five dollars on one.
As far as I’m concerned umbrellas, like pens and lighters, are pretty much common property.
Every single one that’s entered my possession has quickly departed it. I will not pay a lot for an umbrella because I will definitely lose it (or else break it in a windstorm), the only question is how many rainstorms I can get through before that happens.
In fact I don’t usually bother with brollies (what my family calls them), because I always manage to get wet anyway, and I don’t like any extra encumbrances (whether carrying and using an umbrella, or making sure it doesn’t get the rest of my stuff wet, or trying to remember to pick it up when I get off the bus, etc).
So I just suck it up. And I haven’t melted yet.
I have always thought that if I really needed one, I should go into the nearest lost & found (ideally, one for a public transit system) and tell them I lost mine - “It’s black, about yay long. Push-button. Yah, that’s it” I bet millions of umbrellas are abandoned forever in lost & founds each year.
Considering how little they cost, I think they should officially be declared to be common property: there should be umbrella depositories at the entrance of each building, so you can pick one up when you need it, and turn it in at your destination.
As an aside, I grew up thinking that bumbershoot was a brit expression - only to find out when I went to the UK that the brits think it is a yank expression.
I’ve got a Totes folding umbrella that I bought in 1986. It’s been flipped inside out a number of times. Dropped, sat on, lost and refound. Not a rip nor a broken rib on it. There is a crack in the plastic handle.
I had never used an umbrella in my first 20 years of existance, until I came to Japan from Utah. I’ve had scores of them since. Rule 1 of Japan, you never own an umbrella – you are just in possesion of it until someone else walks off with it. Most smaller restaurants and shops have racks where you can leave yours at your own risk. Most of the time you can go home with your own, but it seems there’s a community property rule in place. The worst chance you have is if you go into a drinking establishment just after it’s started to rain, and few people have brought their own. Pretty much kiss of seeing yours again.
We are 2 people in 1 house and have at least 6 umbrellas. Since we live in the PAC NW, our parents are forever sending us matching umbrella sets. Ironically, we never use them, but always end up borrowing one when we visit our parents.
Do you think?