Friday, July 1, 2011

Day 563

Yep. It's definitely July. When I turn the sprinklers on, the ground is dry and cracked an hour later. Even with the air conditioner running all day, it's hard to get the temperature inside down to a comfortable 75 degrees. The dogs like to go outside after lunch to lie in the sun, but they come back in with their tongues hanging out five minutes later. I feel like I'm doing twice as much laundry because my shirts are soaking wet after ten minutes out in the muggy heat. This madness will continue through September.

I've lived in Seattle, Washington, Moscow, Idaho, and Aspen, Colorado. All these places were quite pleasant in the Summer. I still think it was just bad luck that I almost accidentally happened to be residing in Dallas when I realized I was simply too tired of moving from one part of the country to another to ever do it again. I still think that Janet and I will move somewhere really nice when we eventually retire, but doesn't everyone think that? My parents talked about moving somewhere nice, but never got any further than an assisted living community 50 miles down the road.

I'm looking forward to the Fourth of July weekend. There's something reassuring about this old fashioned, unabashedly patriotic holiday. Fourth of July makes me think of I Love Lucy on TV, cooking hot dogs on a stick over an open fire, and wandering around as a kid in peaceful neighborhoods where nobody locked their doors. Things are different now. I've got an iPad now and a computer more powerful than the ones that took us to the moon, but I think life was better when I just had a little plastic transistor radio that let me listen to WLS in Chicago.

Hope you guys have a great weekend. I'm in the mood for burgers.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day