As the world kept turning, the sun came on, arriving in the valley at 5:36 AM, officially, because we had light well before that. I know because the cats were like, “Come on, it’s night, let’s do something.” So, I was up at 4:30, doing something with the cats. Yep, feeding and petting, talking to them, just like it was a more civilized time.
The turning world will spin the sun away at 8:51 PM. High temperatures of about 94 F are expected, which isn’t too bad. Long as it stays below 100, we don’t feel the need for the A/C. The temp inside sometimes reaches 83, but then we turn on a fan. We’re not big A/C fans.
“Boom, Like That” (2004) is passing through my brain this morning. Mark Knopfler’s song about Ray Kroc and McDonald’s came on in when my brain opened the door by thinking about fast food restaurants. Our town has two: Wendy’s and Taco Bell. I don’t eat regularly at either. I visited the Wendy’s last year for ice cream. But these places — fast food — and big box stores have had a smothering influence, the way that they sprang up, crushing the locals. Meanwhile, what they often pay employees has barely moved until social activism kicked up some political pressure. As Mark wrote and sings, “It’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat,” in his smooth, dry way.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax. We in Oregon are almost at the point where we won’t be required to have masks. Vaccinations are slooowwwllly closing in on 70%. That’s the state’s trigger for saying we’re good, following CDC guidance. Jackson County, where I reside, is way behind, at 52%. Ashland, though, is higher, in the lower sixties. Harder to get numbers for the town. Here’s the music. Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 
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