The Summer Cold Season
by James Glaser
June 29, 2007

I figured it had to be a cold yesterday morning, when I woke up tired, achy, and I was sneezing every few minutes. I went to work, but was worthless, everything seemed harder, and I had no energy. I thought it was a cold, but other people were telling me it was new pollen in the air, and others said it was from mold in the soil from the rain we had.

I don't know what it was, but it is pretty much gone today. I still don't have enough energy, but that could be the 95+ temperature and high humidity. I did manage to put is a few productive hours at the studio, and that was good. I think I'll have to go in tonight after it cools down some and see if I can't do some drawing.

Drawing or light sanding are not too bad if you have a fan on you, but using the table saw or standing at the band saw cutting is just too hot when the mercury gets this high.

Early tomorrow morning I am driving my 1957 International pickup downtown to a car show. It is all shined up inside and out, and I am putting a "For Trade" sign on it. I like the truck, but it is all original. Therefore it has no AC, nor power steering, and the truth is, I would like something with an automatic transmission.

Somebody asked me what I was looking to trade for, and I don't really know. I said I wanted something in about the same condition as the International, something that looks good, runs and drives, and has a good title. I guess I will know it when I see it. It is kind of fun to put a vehicle up for trade as it throws people for a loop, and you can see their minds working, figuring out what they have to trade. One guy offered me a 1965 Fairlane 500, with an automatic, and a 289 V-8. I would have considered it, but he never drove it over for me to see. He said he didn't have plates for it. Friends of his who work near me say it is nice, but I want to see it and drive it before I make any sort of trade. Maybe somebody at the show will fall in love with my truck and have something to swap.

Next week I am going out to Blountstown to visit Red Wood Bay Lumber and pick out some exotic wood for this sculpture I am working on. I called out there asking if the had any boards that would be 12 inches wide, and they said they had at least fifteen species of lumber that would have boards that wide. Of course the pocketbook will cull many of them, but it will be fun to look-see what they have.

After two weekends on the road to Virginia and North Carolina it will be nice to stick around town for awhile. Tallahassee always has a lot going on, and I should explore the town more. There are museums I haven't visited yet, and from what I am told, they have some fine performing arts theaters. I have seen a comedy club advertised, but a lot of what they call humor these days is one string of foul words after another. I was in the Marines, and I learned how to swear with the best of them, but it does get old, and is a poor substitute for really funny stories, which I enjoy.

Now that I have built up my endurance on my bike, I am starting to look at the local bike trails as doable. I might not be able to make it all the way down to the coast and back yet, but I think I can handle a ten mile ride. I need a bike rack in the back of the pickup so Wanda and I can haul or bikes down to some of the coastal areas. You get near the ocean, and it is pretty flat. In Florida's summer heat, flat land riding is about right for me.

So, now that I am on the mend and will be fit as a fiddle by morning, I am looking forward to the next few weeks and plan to get lots done.

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