sunshine

I was planning to write something today about the terrible unemployment crisis that's ruining so many lives in this country right now, and how it's been enabled by the dishonesty and insane lust for power that typify the elites who rule us, but the sun finally came out in Seattle and my mind won't go there.

It's been a strange year. We had spring in the winter and winter in the spring, and the first two weeks of summer were cancelled as the air warmed up, but at the same time the clouds rolled in. The gloom has been oppressive and perpetual-seeming, but now it's gone at last. Yesterday afternoon the clouds rolled off to the east in dramatic, Hollywood-movie fashion; the sun came out, and now it's starting to warm up. The weatherman promises a "heat wave" (Seattle style -- that's why I put it in quotes) that's going to stick around for a while.

So out came the bike, just for an idle ride around the neighborhood "with no particular place to go," as Buck Cherry once sang, People were out clearing weeds and the accumulated leaves, pine needles, and dead grass from their front yards. Others were walking their dogs who seemed friskier than usual. The world seemed right for a change, and with any kind of luck we'll get about 90 days of this, with occasional interruptions, before the gloom sets in again. This means it's bicycle season, and tomorrow early I'll pedal over to Tarjay to pick up a fan, since it's going to actually get hot here tomorrow. The outdoor temp is supposed to be close to 90, which is fine with me, but I think it'll probably get pretty stuffy in this apartment.