By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
McALLEN, Texas |...We all know and some of us love our subtropical weather, that annoying, oppressive humidity working itself into our days and nights, there with the relentless summer heat, our existence being nothing more than life in a soft winter and a serpentine summer.
Hey, Maria, it'll be 91 degrees today!
Whoop-de-doo. Is that your response? The old line - that you knew it was coming, that the cool evening of last Thanksgiving and the one a bit cooler on Christmas were just passing moments of meteorological goodness.
I don't know that anyone'd ever studied our regional weather. Well maybe the weatherboys on the area TV stations. They are the evening weather warblers, after all. I mean, is that even a tough job around here after mid-April, when every day is just another hot day? Until late-October, at that.
You could write a paper about it for a college class, yes. That would be reason enough. But, other than that, weather is, well, weather - the local bully and occasional villain, like when, and if, a hurricane aims this way.
Mostly, it is a life of shorts and worn T-shirts for me on a daily basis by this time next month. Until then. I shall insist on my blue jeans and harness boots, an all-cotton, long-sleeve shirt and that'll be that, my cool-weather uniform. And, actually, I'm not alone on that approach. People I see out and about apparently shop where I shop.
I do like the thought of women shedding their however-slight winter garb, those sweaters and pants. A woman in pants? That's a story for another day.
So, 95 degrees here tomorrow. Can 100 degrees be far behind?
It's our insistent environment, the life-giving ambiance there even when we go for an afternoon jog, when we just sit outside and watch the wild birds, when we get into lively discussions about our horrible politics at the restaurant. If it's 95 degrees, it's time for ice cream. Forget Donald Trump and Joe Biden and all that daily mental rot.
Get me some sliced peaches for my primo vanilla ice cream. Stock my freezer with a generous amount of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. I love the smell of caramel in the morning.
Only, if it's hot and humid, well, bring on the ice-cold lemonade, Baby. Get on the couch with me and say something about the air-conditioner working nicely, the overhead fan supporting the concept of colling the joint.
I could bitch for hours about the perspiration that comes with a July and August scorcher. I could damn the planet's gods for ruining my morning coffee's delightful cool-weather taste, for throwing the climate change seriousness in my face.
One could get all riled-up, yes.
But that was me a few years back, soon after I'd returned to my homeland after years away.
I'm subtropical now, see...
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Nice. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter, DP-M!
ReplyDeleteEcho that.
DeleteThank you. Have a blessed day!
DeleteAs we come to the end of the Lenten season (Reflection)...Let us all embrace a NEW dawn with God's grace.
ReplyDelete
DeleteChrist is risen. Alleluia!
May we all make him proud.
Delete@10:02 You said it.
DeleteJesus was a man of color. Republicans having trouble with that today.
DeleteJesus was a Middle Eastern Jewish man. No blue eyes, no white skin and no flowing blonde hair.
DeleteYou acclimate. all it takes is surviving one of our summers.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Moved here from Dallas. it gets just as hot up there but winters are much colder, so there are seasons in other words.
DeleteIt's a state-of-mind.
DeletePerspiration is big here. ha ha
DeleteSurvive the first five summers and you'll be good to go.
DeleteIt does take getting used to.
DeleteOur planet is getting hotter. fact.
Delete63 degrees in Tokyo today, 53 in London, 78 in Mexico City. FYI
DeleteTwo weeks to start of Trump's hush money trial. So, we already know that Cohen made the payments. That happened. It was proven in court, and he served time.
ReplyDeleteSo the payments were made.
This trial is simply about whether or not Donald covered them up in an illegal way. That’s it. It’s simple. Clearly the DA has proof he did.
Time for Orange Donald to face trial for his actions. Plain and simple. No more Smoke, no more mirrors. Let Donald prove in court he didn’t break the law.
Should be juicy, if Melania shows up in court to watch her man turn from orange to red. Stormy's testimony will be riveting.
Deleteforeigner Melania? ... who cares!
DeleteIm old, 70, im white, I don't have a college degree, I live in a rural area of a red state. I don't get what people see in Trump, I see a grifter taking all he can get. Younger people, us boomers won't be here much longer, don't let one person ruin a great country.
ReplyDeletewhen you go to church today, with your new trump bible, look around for Donald Trump. When you can't find him. Go to the golf course. You will find him there. Same place he has been every Sunday for 55 years.
Delete
ReplyDelete"As you know, I love Bible"
"I'm not doing this for the money, I'm doing this for the glory of God and for pandering and mostly for money."
DeleteAs a citizen of democracy and of the United States I demand that Trump be thrown in jail pending trial.
I moved here from El Paso in 2020. It was a shock. We're much drier back home and we do get snow.
ReplyDeleteTrump had over 50 cabinet members during his presidency. Only 4, (that's FOUR), have endorsed him for his third run at the presidency. If the people who worked closest with him won't support him, that's all I need to know.
ReplyDeleteHear, hear!
Delete
ReplyDeleteIt's time to get serious dealing with GOP. And speak up for law and order! Not right-wing oppression, but real law an order that applies fairly to everyone (including powerful white men) and protects the rights of all.
During President Reagan's term. There was a democrat Speaker of the House named Tip O'Neill. Tip was once asked why he spent so much time with President Reagan. Tip's response was "because I like the guy". That is how it used to work. Democrats and Republicans disagreed with one another but did not hate one another. After that, Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House. He started the "You must HATE the opposition" movement. Plus, he convinced the republican party to concentrate more on state legislatures and Governorship's. Which has paid off in spades. The Republican Party now controls more than 30 legislatures and/or Governorship's.
DeleteHe ran the Pentagon for Donald Trump. now says he won’t vote Trump. That would be Mark Esper.
ReplyDeleteOnly the latest former Trump backer to bail on him. Trump is a loser, and his old Cabinet knows it.
DeleteWe gave an incompetent, hateful, vindictive, power-hungry, miscreant an invitation to take over and rule and he availed himself of our offer, one we didn't even realize we'd made, seeing how callous and entitled many of us had become. I only hope it's not too late now for us to step up to the plate, reclaim our values and choices, defend what we said we believed in. It is somehow okay to have dropped the ball but only if we admit our failure to keep true to our way of life, our Constitution, our principles and make every effort to catch the ball and throw it to the ones who will follow in our footsteps. If we cannot do it for ourselves, we owe it to our kids and that would be all our kids, our entire legacy.
ReplyDeleteLawyers for Donald Trump made an extraordinary request in his hush-money case on Friday: they want state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to affirm that Tuesday's gag order lets Trump continue verbally attacking the judge's progressive daughter. WOW.
ReplyDeleteAll it takes is one kook.
DeleteAnd yet this clear and present danger, trump, walks free. It is sickening.
DeleteDoesn't the Secret Service investigate threats to the president? Another free pass for Trump? Outrageous.
ReplyDeleteStory in Houston Chronicle says Texas Republicans targeting HEB Chairman Charles Butt. That's a loser move.
ReplyDeleteApparently, Butt donated to Republicans Gov. Abbott wanted kicked out of the Legislature. I don't think Charles Butt will apologize,
DeleteThat gag order on Trump should be expanded to include ANYONE who is even remotely involved in the case, think the judge's family, their families, the court recorder and their family, the prosecutors and their families, the jurors and their families, and it should also prevent him from holding "court" daily, outside the courtroom. These proceedings are serious business, even if Trump wants to try to turn them into a circus.
ReplyDeleteHe has gotten away with far too much for far too long by making a mockery of our judicial system. He thinks that because he has money, he can dictate the schedule, the witnesses, the questions and everything else concerning his trials for fraud, theft of government files, the doctoring of tax records pertaining to payoffs of people he wants to stay quiet.
Don't let up. It's a long time until November.
ReplyDeleteBiden 2024
Trump will be convicted and sentenced in the upcoming NY Trial. Trump will not get more than 60 % of the Republican vote, which will give Biden an easy path to the Presidency again.
Deletesomething needs to be done about TRUMP NOW
ReplyDelete