Day 1297 - Independence Day

The best Fourth of July I can remember was in 1976. This was the year we celebrated the country's Bicentennial. I was returning from Victoria, British Columbia to Seattle by boat and just as we entered the harbor, a massive fireworks display began directly overhead. The celebration was beautiful and serene as the boat glided slowly towards the shore. There were no ants or mosquitoes and the crowds of revelers were far away on shore. At the opposite end of the scale was a celebration in Dallas where I was right in the middle of thousands of drunk revelers, trying to sell glow-in-the-dark necklaces to raise money for animal rescue. Ever since that event, I have had no desire to be in a large crowd again.

There was certainly a respectable crowd of people in the park behind our house today. Early in the morning, there were hundreds of runners completing a 10K race while I walked the dogs. Later in the day, the park was filled with picnickers, cyclists, and boaters. The smell of barbecue permeated the air, but even the delicious smell of burgers and brisket cooking wasn't enough to make me want to have a picnic myself.

I kept to myself as I worked my way through a list of chores. I made another week's supply of juice with the juicer. I did several loads of laundry. I even tried to fix a leak in the problematic French Porcher toilet. It is impossible to find parts for the thing, but I do the best I can. When all my chores were done, I thought I'd go work out at the gym, but when I got there it was closed for the holiday. On the way home, I stopped at Central Market and got something that we already had in the refrigerator.  My memory is shot.

Dot has an amazing ability to sense changes in the weather. She was was acting like she usually does when it's about to rain this afternoon. I was initially confused, because there was no rain in the forecast and the sky was clear. As her behavior continued, I turned on the weather channel and learned that a cold front had just passed through town. It is easy to miss a cold front in the Summer. I think the temperature just went down from 95 to 85. Dot knew though. She knew way before I did.

I tried to do a little research in the Internet today and see if I could discover why my liver enzyme levels were continuing to fluctuate. There were so many potential reasons that I just gave up. Even trained hepatologists seem to have trouble coming to a consensus about liver enzyme levels. Oddly, exercise can actually cause liver enzyme levels to rise. I can't imagine that I've been doing enough exercise to move the needle though.

At least tomorrow is Friday. Friday is my favorite day. I like things to be finished, and they very seldom are. At least Friday creates the illusion that you've crossed some sort of imaginary finish line.

Matao is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day