As I am listening to African drumming, the rain that has been waxing and waning since the crack of dawn turns heavier and more insistent. The wind turns stronger, too. Soon it starts howling around the house. There is an occasional rattle of doors and windows. The downpour turns into an ever-louder gurgle out in the street. For a while, these sounds mesh wonderfully with the drumming. But I turn it off when the storm reaches its peak. It sounds just right all by itself.