July doldrums.
Saturday, July 25th, 2020
You know that ‘doldrums’ is a term from the world of sailing and navigation, and the real pro sailors of today refer to it as the Intertropical Convergence Zone, which just doesn’t have the same punch…? Kinda sounds like where people to meet to discuss varieties of orange juice.
But what I’m trying to describe is not particularly intertropical, nor does it rely on prevailing winds of any sort. It’s the feeling when it’s hot, very hot, and even with a breeze, one doesn’t feel particularly inspired to take on major outside chores or, well, much of anything. We’re most of the way through July. We can see August there in the distance, with its promise of the first breezes of autumnal coolness.
It’s very hot in Atlanta. It’s pretty darned hot in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. So maybe we should get into the truck and drive to Anchorage? Yeah, it’s only 58º there in mid-afternoon.
But no matter where we go, we’ll still have to deal with the pandemic and its effects and (at some distance) the throes of the Trump administration trying to pull an election victory out of a strategy that seems to mix equal parts fear, xenophobia, and general stupidity.
I wish the winds would pick up and hurl us more quickly toward November.
