bakin' in bako

for those of you to whom i've already whined about how hot it is in bakersfield, feel free to disregard this post.

it has been over one hundred degrees every day since i've been home. it is, admittedly, a "dry heat," but it is the kind of heat that leaves everything gasping for water. there are more patches of dusty and brittle than lush green. the few trees here leave short shadows on sidewalks and streets. skin is dry; lips are chapped.

my parents, because of energy and money conservation, do not use the air conditioner between the hours of noon and 6PM.

i can jump into the pool any moment i choose, but it is lukewarm, like bathwater. and the light reflects so bright from the pools bottom that it blinds blue.

i had to laugh this morning when the weather woman instructed viewers to take a look at the palm tree behind her. we would notice its fronds moving ever so slightly from a breath of hot air. she told us - not ironically - that we would have a "marine influence" today and that temperatures would dip down to 102 degrees.

i'm not kidding.

then she said that our marine reprieve would not last for long. temperatures would be back up to 105 and 106 this weekend.

God help me at least get a tan out of all of this. but no wrinkles. thank you.

@>-->>---

postscript 7/23/2005:
the marine influence helped break the 100 degree trend. heat peaked at 98 degrees yesterday. today should be back up to 107, according to the bakersfield californian.