Summer’s Wrath

     I can not remember a summer that has been so hot and so dry here in the Midwest.  It may have been hot and it may have been humid, but at least it always managed to rain.  This summer not only is it hotter than the blazes of hell, but there hasn’t been any rain at all.  It is dryer than a popcorn fart.  One loose cigarette out a passing car window and the whole place would go up like a roman candle.

      Because of this continuing draught, the powers that be put a county wide ban on the use of fireworks, and except for a few aerial bursts of red, blue, and green the fourth of July was quiet.  Our town cancelled their fireworks display.  I even read in the newspaper that people who were caught setting off fireworks that just happened to start a blaze were arrested and carted off to jail.  

       I went past fireworks vendors who were so desperate they were out alongside the road waving signs saying “it rained!”  A birdie must have pooped on their head because I know it never rained.  I would have noticed.  I have been shifting my sprinkler from one point to the next in my yard at regular intervals throughout the day all summer long.  They were left with no customers.  By the time the holiday came and went the local newspapers were proclaiming the woes of the fireworks dealers who were basically on the verge of bankruptcy due to the continuous fear that one stray spark would cause another ravaging fire disaster like the fires out west.

       A person can’t even enjoy the swimming pool.  We went out to the pool last night in the hopes for a little relief from the heat and what we discovered was water so hot it burned the skin.  We had to add water from the hose to turn the lava hot water into bath water.  On the upside we weren’t cold when we finally decided to get out of the swimming pool until we stepped into the icy cold air conditioned house.

       I know I am not alone.  A lot of people across the country are guzzling water to keep heat stroke at bay, trying to water grass in an effort to turn it back to green, and watering a vegetable garden that withers seconds after the water has been turned off.  It has gotten so hot here at my house that the tree’s leaves in the front yard are falling to the ground dried up and brown.  You would think it was the beginning of fall instead of the middle of summer.  You know you are in trouble when the weather guy on the local news threatens to wear ugly ties until we receive a good soaking rain and is starting to ask for viewers to send in donations of the ugliest ties they can find so he can keep up his end of the bargain.

       Will it ever rain?  Will the temperatures ever break out of the 90’s?  Inquiring minds want to know!!  I have no answers.  All I know is that I am no meteorologist.  I am no farmer.  I am just a lady who wonders if we are getting a little taste of hell fire right here on earth until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.