May 13, 2014
These Hot Spring Nights
It’s half an hour past midnight, and I am standing in the darkened bathroom, just having brushed my teeth. This is the room from which I can actually hear what’s going on outside. My bedroom fan, employed 24/7, for the purpose of fresher air and noise cancellation, is only a distant hum.
From my sink, I can hear the persistent cricket scrape, backdropped by Mr. Arthur, our local mockingbird, who is singing a few last bars before bed…unless he decides to strike up the choir again in an hour or two, as he has been known to do. In fact, there he goes again, after a brief hiatus. He is just too happy to keep it to himself.
It is a warm night in early May, and tomorrow will be a hot night in early May. My friend saw our forecast and pronounced it “Africa hot.”Two streetlights are out, the moon is almost full. The night feels like anticipation, though of what I am uncertain.
Where I live is a blend of city and not. The distant train horn, the occasional ruffle of a car alarm, the single speeding motorcycle mark it as city. The crickets and bird and sound of hot air feel not-city. The dog bark a half mile away, the cat wail, could be either. It is relatively peaceful as yet.
Tomorrow, with twenty extra degrees and more wind, the crank factor will increase and I expect to hear more unrest, the ghetto bird (police helicopter) making its spotlight rounds, an occasional shout or protesting voice, more car alarms.
But for tonight, I’ll take the peace and crickets before I repair to my fanswept bed and drown all sound but white.
Pushing the Bruise 
It’s a bit diferent to here in the UK then. We had to light a fire yesterday as it was so cold in the house. I’ll swap you a little heat for a little cool. What do you think?
Wow, Angela–a fire in the fireplace! I love fires in the fireplace…but I can’t even conceive of it right now! So…hot… 🙂 You can have as much of this heat as you’d like! But please send a little rain in exchange. We need it! Drought year for sure.
“The night feels like anticipation, though of what I am uncertain.” I adore this line.
I’ve already run the AC, and today fight the urge to turn the furnace on. Fickle fickle May.
Thank you, Debbie! Eek–fickle indeed! AC *and* heater in the same day? You’d think you lived in Colorado! 😉
“A blend of city and not.” Your rich description helped me be in your city. My life is full of the “not,” so it’s refreshing to visit another place through your words. Nicely done.
I wish my life were a little more full of the “not.” And it will be again one day. For now, I just look very carefully for the beauty and the gifts that are present and that present themselves daily.
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Africa hot, ghetto bird–we’re writers which is how we come up with these descriptives.
Sounds like a nice place to live!
We’re word-playahs! We play with the words. 🙂