TIL the first 40 pages of a story can just be weather and I'll still keep reading

I used to skip any post that didn't hit the action by the second paragraph, like my brain had a timer on it. Then last spring I read this 12,000 word piece about a guy rebuilding a dock in Port Angeles, and nothing happened until page 3 except rain and a seagull stealing his sandwich. I almost closed it, but something about the way he described the tide made me stay. Now I look for those slow intros on purpose, the ones where the writer just sits in a place and lets you feel the gray. It's like the payoff hits harder when you've been patient for it. Anyone else find their tolerance for slow starts changed after one specific story?

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