More Heat

My wife and I talked about dinner as we drove home from the office today. Neither of us was particularly interested in the topic of what to eat for dinner, but both of us expected that we would get hungry at some point this evening, and so we might as well decide what to eat.

This is what happens when the temperature jets pass 100 degrees for day upon day upon day. Something as beguiling as food becomes less so...the way the sun seems to sear into your eyes as you glance west, the way the leather on the car seats seems to sear into the flesh on your legs as you sit down...and it all tears away at the niceties that make each day tolerable, even in this time well before retirement. Heat. Raw, burning, blazing, scorching heat. A gust of wind amplifies it. A sliver of shadow cast by a tall, thin sunflower is like the rush of a cool breeze. The thermometer affixed to the rear-view mirro read 108 degrees today as we drove home. Usually, it drops a bit as we get closer to home and find a bit more shade, but not today. Today is different. It's relentlessly, agonizingly hot.

So, to dinner. We opted for hamburgers. Grilled hamburgers. I will do the grilling, of course. I don't really need to light the grill...it's probably hot enough to do the job as it is. Now that I'm thinking of it, a hot meat patty doesn't sound particularly appetizing...maybe I'd rather have a large glass of shaved ice, flavored with hamburger essence.

I've complained about heat before. But it is getting truly ridiculous. And some people wonder why the icy north is so attractive to me!