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Tuesday, July 02, 2002 So I was doing my eye exercises for the day [see journal entry of June 23] and when I got to an exercise that employs a word chart, a line of type -- very small type up near the top of the chart -- that has until now been just beyond my ability to make out, became clear. With no difference in the physical details -- same distance from me, same lighting. Man, what a feeling. My vision is improving. ********************* It's been warm and humid all day. Not hot, really -- temperatures in the 80s -- but the kind of humidity that produces a heavy haze. The kind of humidity many find mighty oppressive. Between that and light overcast, the heat's felt pretty manageable to me. But the people I heard talking about it in Montpelier this morning seemed to find it brutal. Everything's relative, I guess. When you spend most of the year in cold temperatures, days of high humidity and mercury climbing to the mid-80s have an impact. Plus I'm out in the country. Could be that in town, in an apartment with less than wonderful ventilation, the situation might be less user-friendly. I have to say, though, compared to summers in Boston and New York, this seems positively benign. Three summers ago, I was in D.C. for the Fourth of July weekend. Compared with the hellacious combo of heat and humidity I experienced there, this comes off as gentle, benevolent. And then there's the summer heat in Madrid, which reaches seriously elevated levels. No humidity, though, so it generally feels manageable to me. At night, the mercury drops so that the wee hours usually feel cool, fresh, even in the heart of the city with concrete all around. One learns to stay to the shadows as much as possible when moving through the streets during the days, at night everyone goes out. A liveable mode of being. And of course, at the end of July half the population takes off until the end of August/beginning of September, leaving the city quieter, the traffic less crazed. A good time to be there. And I will be, two weeks from now, for the second half of July. Hot damn! rws 5:17 PM [+] |