Must Be Summer

It's 4:20 AM. Couldn't sleep.

There's an early morning thunderstorm going on right now. Lots of lightning, mostly silent but for a low background rumbling, and a brief gout of rain that made the humid air feel tangibly cooler.

There's nothing in the world like a thunderstorm on the high plains; Minnesota storms don't compare, but I love them anyway. Hot muggy days like these last few are the only times when living in the city gets onerous; the heat bounces off the concrete and the humidity is maddeningly smothering. Storms like this do a lot to reset the table, if you will, giving the street a clean slate. You know it'll get hot and sticky and miserable again, but for right now things are cool and wet and bearable.

I'm not a summer person. Don't get me wrong, I love summer - as long as I can be outside, preferably biking. Working, cooking, cleaning - those aren't as much fun. My old house doesn't have central air, and I haven't yet re-installed the room units I bought last year - more busywork to do - and I'm just not a "hot and sweltering" kinda guy. Chilly beats sweltering 10 times out of 10.

But a few judiciously-place thunderstorms go a long way toward making things liveable.