Eventually, we Chicagoans get to stop thinking about snow and ice and can turn our attention to the misery of wind-whipped rain. Traditionally, these downpours occur when you have just lost, broken or forgotten your umbrella. What happens then is you run to the closest drug store, street vendor, dollar store or gas station and buy a cheapo -- or you get soaked. Sometimes both, depending on the quality of the umbrella you buy in haste. I can't help you remember to take an umbrella when the forecast says rain, and I sure can't keep you from losing the thing -- since I am vying for the world record on that score.

Q--I am on the board of directors of a condominium association that is part of a master association. The master association is run by the umbrella board. Each of the buildings in the master association, as well as the umbrella board, has its own budget. What are the powers and duties of each individual board and the umbrella board? What references in the Illinois Condominium Property Act explain the role of each board? One morning a week, there is a meeting attended by representatives of each board, the management company, and the maintenance man for the property.

NBC seemed to dig its "Thrillogy" lineup from the 1996-'97 season. "Dark Skies," "The Pretender" and "Profiler" were housed under this umbrella title as dark, moody blends of action and adventure. The concept night, patterned after the lighter "Must-See TV" Thursday night block of comedies, survived the beginning of this season when the canceled "Dark Skies" was replaced by "Sleepwalkers." But that show only lasted a handful of weeks after its premiere last fall. "TV Censored Bloopers," which took "Sleepwalkers' " place, doesn't have the same cachet of "Profiler" and "The Pretender," so "Thrillogy" is dead.

What do Bill Clinton and O.J. Simpson have in common? In calmer days, both were smart enough to buy personal umbrella insurance. Both policies turned out to be excellent investments: President Clinton's umbrella insurers (State Farm and Pacific Indemnity) are paying to defend him against defamation charges that are part of Paula Jones' sexual-harassment suit, while O.J.'s umbrella insurer paid the legal bill for his civil trial. Personal umbrella policies are among the best buys in insurance.

Not long ago I found myself in a crushing rainstorm, holding a red-and-white umbrella by its stump. Its handle was missing, its ribs were poking out and its provenance was dicey: My husband had pulled it from a trash can in my moment of need. Mary Poppins I'm not. She prepared properly for rain with a sober black umbrella. I cannot bring myself to face reality. If bad weather looms, I pack a picnic and predict sunshine will prevail. But as I stood on a crowded street corner with my broken umbrella, praying that its rusty ribs wouldn't put out anybody's eye, I realized it was time to reform.

Sitting here, idly staring, first at the keys of my typewriter and then at the drops running down my window, I realize there are very few things so satisfying as being in out of the rain. When it's wet outside and I`m inside, dry, I feel contented and in control of my world. Civilization works. I have defeated the elements by effectively sheltering myself against them. This wonderful, satisfied feeling came to me for the first time in my life when I was about 8. I was lying in bed in our cottage on a lake in northern New York State and rain began pelting the tin roof over my head.