The Myth & The Majesty

It's raining again -- snowing just south of here, actually. And further west. Because it's May and it's the Hills. My summer has begun, such as it is, and I'm hanging out for a few minutes at a coffee shop before I head off to the land of unreliable Internet. (Plus, well, right now I have free time, sort of.) And wondering why there's a commercial for a Sioux Falls bowling alley on TV here. Sorry. Train of thought ... Um ... Ah yes. Although my summer is technically something of a step back (sort of) I couldn't be much more excited about it. I mean, I get to spend the summer cooking. In a place I love. With people I haven't seen enough of in the last four years. And I get to go hiking. And kayaking. And haunt my favorite coffee shop on the planet. And hang out at the ranch occasionally. And study for various acceptance tests. And fill out applications for schools within easy reach of school and an incredibly helpful former professor.

What can I say? Not a whole lot has been going on. I've celebrated my birthday in some fairly random ways. On my 18th, I was in Kansas City and the roller coaster I was waiting for got shut down due to lightning. On my 21st, it snowed 8 inches. This year, as we were sitting down to eat, the civil alert sirens went off. I looked at Shorty, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Air raid?" While a tornado would be moderately commonplace at this time of year, this time there was a wall of wind coming. It had been nice all day -- sunny and clear -- but around 7PM storm clouds were approaching. When the sirens went off, we checked the weather to find that they were expecting the wind to go from calm to 50+mph straight-lines in a matter of seconds. We spent the next five minutes battening down the hatches. And watching. Sure enough, you could see it coming. Trees south of us suddenly bent under its force, moving slowly toward us. When it hit, the temperature dropped about ten d

I can't let this kind of occasion go by without at least acknowledging it. Even if -- in this case -- all I can think is, "Rock. On." Yep.

Hm. The dishwasher was just smoking. That can't be good. (A text message from me to Shorty just a little while ago.) Well, it's May. Later this month, I'll be moving to the Hills. Before that, I'll be turning 27. This may be the year I start aging ungracefully. In the meantime, I have to go deal with a smoking dishwasher. I hope this isn't an indicator of the month to come.