Pink Limeade

Persian limes on sale for 3 bucks a bag, I remember a Deli from Janitor College where they stacked a great roast beef sandwich and made a simple limeade from scratch that was wonderful. I blow off the pink part, because I don't any of that red stuff: water, sugar, citric acid, and red dye #2, so this might better be called Clear Limeade. On four or five cubes in a 16 ounce glass I squeeze the juice from two limes, add a pouch of Sweet'n Low, which dissolves instantly, and top with water. A great summer drink. Sometimes I add a shot of bourbon. Getting through this summer is an act of faith, hotter than the shades of hell, hotter than a cast iron man-hole cover. 85 degrees in the house by noon and I turn on the air-conditioner, plop on the sofa and read the Faulkner biography all day. Interesting and a bit depressing. No doubt an American Original, there are four or five works of genius, and he did spawn Cormac McCarthy, which may be his greatest accomplishment. Wonderful picture of Linda in the mail yesterday, she's standing in the Milwaukee Museum of Art, with the janitor. Laughed so hard I choked. Skillet-fried a small steak, wanting nothing to do with the outdoors, and saving the grill from an attack by the dog. Then made a very quick potato gratin in the microwave, using canned sliced potatoes, and browned the top with a propane torch. These are really quite good, and if you live alone, the only way to go. Especially in summer if you cook on a woodstove. Half an avocado, the cavity filled with lime juice. An excellent meal made possible by air-conditioning. I would not have fixed it otherwise, would have eaten a sandwich, or cheese and a tomato. Next winter will probably be correspondingly cold; just remember, as B said, grammar is the train, syntax is the track. Some Miles on the radio, the consummate genius, he looks down and blows a few notes. And they are perfect notes. The Cello Suites are number one, but "Bitches Brew" is number two and sometimes they switch locations. Certainly number three is The Grateful Dead, "Europe, 72". In a very real way I am revealed by what I listen to. Now that I'm running the unit, I listen to more music, to mask the sound, Greg Brown at dinner. It's a different world. I think I understand more about modern culture than I did before. I'm a guy who watches tadpoles. I hadn't realized how great the separation was, between people and nature. Rule one is that you have to open as many windows as possible. Nothing compares to the real world, the iridescence on a dead oak leaf. I fold boxes merely to survive. The trees are swaying in a breeze that adumbrates rain. Squall line coming, dark before dark. Better go. I'll send this tomorrow.