Thursday, October 04, 2007

I'm Guessing You're Not From Around Here

I'm off to a late start today because the National Public Radio swimming program is wearing my ass out. I was doing around 1,700 yards a workout, but that's closer to 2,300 now because the programs are an hour long. But it is absolutely great to be listening to such an excellent program while I swim.

I was driving near work on Tuesday afternoon, and it was hot. We have had a very, very hot last few weeks, and even now, temperatures are still in the 91-93 range every day.

Here, take a look:


Ah, beautiful Fall. There's just nothing like the enjoyment I get from raking hyperthermia victims off the lawn.

So it was the middle of the afternoon and it was boiling, and while I was stopped at a light, I looked over and saw four people walking together across the intersection.

Conventioneers, I guessed. Tourists.

For one thing, no one around here is going to be walking through this intersection. It's high, high traffic, and besides, we're all in our cars with the air conditioning cranked. We're not walking around when it's 93.

Plus I saw lanyards around their necks, and they were all wearing vaguely similar clothing. It all screamed "we're working a booth."

Like I said, there were four of them walking together, and while three of them were unremarkable, the fourth guy stood out. For one, he was very big and very white. He was also sweating so heavily that it looked like he'd been in the shower.

So it was kind of like the album cover for Abbey Road, except Paul was a polar bear.

So sweat was absolutely pouring off this guy's face, and he looked like he was one step away from a massive, heat-induced heart attack. In spite of his impending cardiac arrest, though, his right hand clutched a prized possession.

A giant, inflatable cactus.

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