Sunday, August 02, 2009

The Dragons of August

The dragons of August have firmly coiled themselves around Florida. Their fiery breath steals the air from my lungs when I step outside to get the morning paper. By noon, their forked tongues have licked all the pavements, turning a barefoot stroll into hopping over hot coals. Their weapons are heat, humidity, and hurricanes. My only defense is air conditioning, the technology that makes bearing Florida summers possible.

August is not for the faint of heart. It stares at me from the calendar, daring me to face it one more time. Run errands early. Drink plenty of fluids. Stay indoors after lunch. Wait for the welcome rumble of afternoon thunder and cooling rains. Venture out cautiously after dinner.

If I survive the standoff, sometime in late September, I'll be rewarded with the first cool tease of (still) far away winter: a refreshing breeze.

2 comments:

Joanne Sher said...

Praying the dragon jumps in the ocean! (LOL) We've had unseasonably cool temperatures. July only had five days that were at or above average. They're saying August will be much the same.

Lynda Schultz said...

Come to my house—it's only 29 degrees Celsius here in Caracas this morning, and though we get brushed by hurricanes once in a while, it is absolutely nothing compared with what the southern states gets exposed to.

Hope you get some relief soon, and that Michigan warms up for the FAITHWRITERS conference.