It’s too hot right now, and that is saying something, coming from me. I actually really like hot weather, but today is too hot. I worked at home, which I would have done anyway but the base issued a maximum telework order so even if I’d not planned to WFH, I’d have ended up doing it tomorrow.
The heat is hard to describe. Oppressive, suffocating, sweltering - all overused words, and all kind of inadequate. It’s sunny and clear, though quite humid; and very very still. Broiling might be a good word for the heat but it doesn’t adequately describe the humidity. And broiling is not a word that I would associate with the lethargy that comes over me every time I think about doing anything - anything at all.
Today is July 2, and the high temperatures will hit at least 100 for the next few days. Donald Trump is threatening to give the longest-ever outdoor speech. If he does, then I hope he forces all of his evil henchmen to put on their little suits and to sit in folding chairs behind him. That’s the 4th of July those MFers deserve.
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It’s Friday July 3 now, day 3 of the heat dome weather event. It’s 90 degrees outside right now, which isn’t all that hot for July, except that it’s 10 in the morning.
Today is a holiday for me, and I’m going to do some things, but not many things. I’m going to make a nice big salad with some chicken breast and mixed vegetables. I’m going to shop for groceries. I’m going to finish reading one book and start on another. I’m going to swim. I’m going to do very little else if I can help it.
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Well, America’s 250th birthday came and went. It was a rather low-key holiday. I helped with the neighborhood parade, and then I spent the afternoon at the pool, with my sons and their friends, which was lovely. Generally, I don’t ever just sit still in a pool because even on a hot day, I get very cold in the water unless I’m moving. But with air temperatures in the low 100s and water temperatures in the high 80s, hypothermia was not a concern. I swam for a while, and then I just remained still in the water. I even read, with the Kindle propped on the deck. When I finally got out of that pool, my whole body was pruny.
My husband had to work all evening, and my kids had plans with their friends, so I stayed in. I ate salad and ice cream, which is really a perfect diet during extreme heat events. I read my book and watched a few episodes of “The West Wing.” My husband came home at 11 and for some unfathomable reason, he wanted to watch Trump’s speech. I sat through the first few minutes but went to bed before he was finished speaking and found out this morning that he didn’t manage to get the fireworks started until after midnight. Sad! Happy 5th of July.
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Last week’s social media discourse among people my age was the contrast between 1976 and 2026. I grew up in Philadelphia, and the Bicentennial was like having the Olympics, the World Cup, the major party conventions and maybe a Papal visit all in one year. It was a big deal, with massive parades and tall ship flotillas and concerts and block parties and celebrations, official and unofficial. Every house was festooned with flags and draped in bunting. People painted red, white, and blue star/stripe designs on telephone poles and fire hydrants and anything else that paint would stick to. The Bicentennial Wagon Train passed through my neighborhood on July 2, and we stood three or four deep on the sidewalks, waving to the passing wagons, with water ice and pretzel vendors pushing their carts through the crowds. It was a fun time to be a child.
This year's children got a sad little broken-down "State Fair," an algae-ridden Reflecting Pool, a Trump speech, and day-late fireworks. They deserved better. But this is the generation that will be running the country in 2076, and I have faith that they will do better. I won't be alive in 50 years, but God willing the US will see a Tricentennial with leaders worthy of what this country was meant to be but has never quite been. For now, it's back to work as we begin year 251.
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