Monsoon Magikk

Greetings from monsoon world!

The clouds have begun to burst, and the desert vegetation is responding admirably!

The onset of the monsoon season is early this year....though not earlier than the window that the Weather Service has designated---June 15 thru July 15---for the winds to shift from southwest to southeast, and the moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to settle in over southeastern AZ. Helping the early start this year was a week or two of 105+ temperatures. "Monsoon" is an Arabic word that applies to the wind shift itself. They have monsoons in Asia (e.g., Burma/Myanmar) every year, so why not AZ too!

It is fun to watch distant lightning shows from our patio, even though we may be high and dry. Our friend, the Colorado river toad (google it, it's humongous), has found his way from an underground burrow to my swimming pool. He/she shares lap time with me. I'm inclined to think it's a he, since he's not got anything better to do......I lifted him up and out a few times only to find him back in the drink doing the frog kick (rather well, i must say) and deep dives.

This week we are flying to Wilkes-Barre (PA), my hometown, for my 42nd class reunion. Leave it to the class of '66 to do things a bit unconventionally. The only reunion we've had to date was a 10th, in which I did not partake. Heck, we were barely out of college for that one, and many of my classmates in high school also attended college with me. It wasn't as if we were old and chubby and grey in 1976, as many of us who don't dye (or die, regrettably) will be at the 42nd. We're flying to W-B on July 3rd, staying locally at a Comfort Suites on my uncle's dime (we were going to stay at his townhouse, but he's very uncomfortable being a host after 20 years living alone). The clambake is being held in an outdoor grove in a nearby rural area on Saturday, the 5th.

We'll have a rental car, so on the 4th and 6th we'll be travelling to my old haunts for nostalgic reasons. My sister may drive down from Ithaca, NY, to Lake Carey, where my family had a cottage for a decade. We might even swim there for old times' sake.

On Monday, we're going to drive to Paramus, NJ, to visit with another uncle, Dick. He's blind and 81, but still lives alone in his home of 40+ years. We'll take him to dinner a few times, one of them at Legal Seafood (yummmm), and maybe to Home Depot or the supermarket. He relies on neighbors and a "lady friend" to help him run errands and do odd jobs at home that he cannot accomplish himself. Still does his own laundry and fixes meals. I'm amazed at his tenacity.

On Wednesday, the 9th, we're flying back to Tucson from Newark.

Two weeks later, we're off again, this time to Rochester for my nephew's wedding. We're staying in a Courtyard Marriott there....I like them cuz they're all non-smoking. In the northeast, smoking is a well-preserved vice, not quite as bad as in Europe, but still nauseating. PA passed an anti-smoking ban that pales in comparison to those in more progressive states. It won't yet be in effect when we are there; we'll have to hold our noses most of the time.

There's not much new to speak of with Steven. We drove to Phx on Father's Day and had sushi with him at his place of employment. He made me an awesome rainbow roll! He finished up a summer class on Friday and is free (except for a 40-hr work week) til classes resume in mid-August.

Chest x-ray in mid-June revealed the fungal infection in my lungs to be less than an inch in diameter, which the doc says is about as small as it will get. The valley fever should remain dormant unless my immune system is weakened by whatever. I feel stronger, though sleep is still my best friend. I wanted to swim laps today, but the skies are an ominous purple and the wind is blowing fiercely. I'll get the swim done later under the lights if it clears up.

My Aunt Grammy (Ruby) is now a blogger and I want to say I'm soooo totally proud of her chutzpah (she won't know what that is....no, it's not a Jewish delicacy). She's a great-grandmother who has mastered the navigation of cyberspace, fiercely unafraid of the dreaded empty blue screens that occur and the illegible encryption that suddenly appears when you least expect it! Hooray for grey power!!

Love and best regards to all readers.
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