the august body

8.31.98

Despite continued withering heat, in a very large way it's now the end of summer for me. School for Amy begins the day after tomorrow, and Viv, always mindful of the value of being present for domestic milestones, has taken the next few days off from work to witness the hoopla surrounding our daughter's entrance into the second grade. This means that as of now, my August tenure as the absolutely full-time adult-in-charge of six-year-old well-being is over. Sure, I'll still be hers before and after school, but now there are these giant spans of something called time which are ripe with a lack of interruption. And if that doesn't paint a surreal picture I don't know what does.

As I've mentioned before, August is always the longest month of the year since there is no school, the daylight lasts and lasts, and the temperatures soar to stretch time like taffy. This year it was particularly stressful because of the Rib Cracking Festival I had early in the summer. I could barely move at first, or breathe while lying down. I certainly couldn't keep up my normal running schedule. Weeks passed. Yet for some reason, despite the inactivity, I continued to eat. The carbohydrate equation is complex, especially when factoring in cheddar and jack cheese cubed and a multiplier of Rice Krispies squared, resulting in a bottom line you just don't want to reckon with.

Add to this the long mandatory shutdown of exercise after my emergency appendectomy last Christmas and what we have is one big boy.

One big boy who starts running again tomorrow.

Honest.

But right now I'm gonna go have me some fun.

Today's Music:

"Can't Run But" -- Paul Simon -- THE RHYTHM OF THE SAINTS

Wisdom of the Day:

Shake and shake/The catsup bottle,/None will come,/And then a lot'll.

- Richard Armour