how hot is it?

Every time I’m on calls with co-workers and friends they ask How hot is it? Are you staying cool?

And yeah, it’s hot. Like life-threateningly hot. Three-showers-a-day hot.

But what’s the alternative? (Realistically, other than snowbirding?)

I’d never have imagined myself living in the tropical South, and the heat and humidity are real, like the evil main character in a short story we’re all reading.

Walking outside is like swimming in a humid furnace, dog paddling along a sidewalk from one patch of shade to the next. Standing still becomes your own personal upright wading pool, with sweat trickling down your back, from your forehead into your eyes, from your butt crack down the backs of your thighs and into your socks and shoes.

I don’t mind a challenge but this is a tough one.

Klee's pedagogical sketchbook

Senecio, Paul Klee

I've admired the modernist art of Paul Klee for some time. This week I've been reading about his pedagogical sketchbook. I was pleased to see that his instructions translate to writers, too.
1. Take a line for a walk. Repeat the same form in as many positions as possible.
2. Observe a fishtank. Create movement in your work.
3. Draw the circulatory system. Use nature as a model, theme, inspiration.
4. Weigh the colors. Combine scientific precision with mysticism; find the connection between color and music.
5. Study the greats. Break down a master to determine what makes their work successful (or not).
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I've also been admiring the photographs of Jacques Henri Lartigue. He and Klee were probably contemporaries of a sort. I'm quite taken with his casual, non-posed photographs of a certain class of young, slender, elegant European in the 1920's and 1930's, living life, running around in go-karts, sun-bathing, jumping off a staircase, going out. The women are rouged beauties, the men dashing and reckless. There's a sense of languor and mystery. Do yourself a favor. Click this Google search and immerse yourself.

fly

So I met one half of Fly Moon Royalty over the weekend. I've seen them perform around town on occasion. Fresh.
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Sad news from a friend today, of another fallen parent. Two friends have lost their fathers in the past six months. I know the deep gash of hurt and shock. It's a journey you make alone, despite the presence of lovers and family and friends. You must learn to survive without the parent. You must go on without the parent. And eventually you can thrive, without the parent.
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Starting to mend. This has been a patience-testing voyage for sure. And all I can do is keep on, keep calm, and heal.