how hot is it?
i really wish rodney dangerfield was still with us to answer that question. it's been super hot around here lately with a lot of people saying it's the hottest weather ever. the so called experts like to factor in humidity levels and wind etc to come up with an adjusted "feels like" number, much like they do in the winter when they add in the "wind chill" factor.
why don't they ever factor in the "hangover" factor. it's really hard for me to compare this weather to that of 20 years ago because i no longer have hangovers. but i still have a great deal of sympathy for the poor buggers trying to deal with 100 degree weather while they're dehydrated and have a pounding headache from the previous night's adventures with the demon rum.
this morning i rode up the supermarket and after completing my shopping and unlocking the bike i was trying to decide whether to put rip's sack of potatoes in the backpack or just ride home with the bag hanging from the handlebars when something wonderful happened. a stranger approached me and asked if i was ok and if there was anything he could do for me. this gesture could be interpreted two ways.
1. in my glass half full universe i smiled and said no problem, i'm doing great but thanks for the concern.
2. or i could have sat back and said, do i really look so pitiful that a stranger looks upon me as a homeless man with no apparent means to look after myself?
a few times strangers have offered to give me a few bucks when they see me going through trash cans in search of empty beer and pop cans. once when i stopped to pick up cans on the side of the road a man stopped and insisted that i take some of his groceries. i ended up riding away with a few cans of soup and some nachos.
these are the good things that happen to me when ride around on my bike like a poor homeless man but there is also a down side. it can be hard to get service in a store when the clerks think i'm nothing but a nuisance and don't enough money to buy their junk. and i occasionally get some really dirty looks from fellow shoppers when i try to talk to them. usually i say nothing when a stranger looks down on me but there's a good chance i'll say, well fuck you too.
and tomorrow i have an appointment to receive my second dose of the covid vaccine. i was one of the suckers who took an astrazeneca for the first dose but now i'm going to get either pfizer or moderna. i'll have no choice and won't know what i'm getting until i show up.
i'll be bringing a book and a bag of ju jubes with me. if there are any good looking women in the waiting area, i'll be ready to break the ice with ju jubes. fuck, i might even comb my hair and iron a white shirt.
