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It's been raining a lot lately. Have you considered taking up hula dancing? 

That piece of advice comes straight from Harry Kim, chief executive of Hawaii County, whose
 office just happens to sit in the rainiest city in America, Hilo, Hawaii. 

So New Yorkers - who are enduring the rainiest weeks of the rainiest summer of a really
 rainy year - could learn a lot about surviving this soggy season from Mayor Kim. 

His first piece of advice? Get lei-ed. 

"If you're going to be indoors so much, you should have lots of flowers around," said Kim,
 whose city is deluged by 200 inches of rain a year (which is approximately how much rain
 fell on New York last week).

And with normal recreation options like softball, jogging or pineapple-picking washed out,
 Kim recommended other aerobic exercise (wink, wink). 

"I endorse hula dancing," he said, "but there are other forms of exercise that keep up your
 spirits." (Mr. Mayor! This is a family paper.) 

It's widely known that everyone always complains about the weather, but no one does anything
 about it - but Kim said those frowns can actually be our umbrella. 

"Rain is like Alcoholics Anonymous," Kim said. "Everyone is in the same boat, so bitching
 about the weather really does help." 

If all else fails, rent The Sound of Music. "It really is a classic," Kim said. 

Hizzoner and I split over his movie recommendations, so I called Ian Birnie, the Hilo
 harbormaster. He said that when life throws you lemons, you should throw away the nice
 duds. 

"You're all wearing suits and expensive dresses, but you should dress casually," Birnie
 said. "I never wear a tie, so if I get wet, it's no big deal. I don't even tuck in my
 shirt." 

Shirts are optional at Hilo's biennial rain festival - created years ago to attract tourists
 to America's rain capital. 

"There are so many reasons to celebrate the benefits of abundant rainfall," said Roxcie
 Waltjen, the island's cultural director. 

When I questioned the benefits, Waltjen elucidated: "Great-tasting water [yeah, we have
 that, too!], abundant foliage [yeah, we also have that - at least where we haven't cut it
 down] and clean streets [well, two out of three ain't bad]." 

The centerpiece of the rain festival is the umbrella parade (think Easter Sunday, with silly
 umbrellas instead of silly hats), the soup-making contest, and the milk-carton boat race
 ("We race 'em right in the gutter!" Waltjen said). 

And the best thing about Hilo's constant rain is that "people don't have to haul their own
 water," Waltjen gushed. "Of course, that may not be directly applicable to your situation."

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gersh.kuntzman@verizon.net