...And The Livin' Is Easy

Summertime has come to the Truckee Meadows, and we've got the 90+ degree weather to prove it. It's my absolute favorite time of year to be living downtown, because July means Artown. There are all sorts of crazy things going on at various locations downtown. Take for example the folks at the right, Project Bandaloop, a group that calls itself a "dance/mountaineering troupe" that performs, well, I guess you'd call it performance art on the sides of buildings. I could see them warming up yesterday on the side of Artists' Loft Apartments, and tomorrow they're giving three shows. Hopefully they don't mind me using pictures from their website--guys, I'm not profiting from this and I'm not worth suing, I swear. Maybe MiMi can tell me about all the copywrite laws I'm violating ;-)

As I sit and write this here in the Fortress of Solitude, a.k.a. my 8th floor studio, I have the balcony door open and I can hear Hawaiian music coming from Wingfield Park next door. Another thing I love about summer in the city is all the free (and surprisingly diverse) concerts. It brings a vitality to the riverside neighborhood that isn't there other times of year; all kinds of folks, from yuppies who work in the nearby banking district to itinerant bikers to hippies to families with young children to elderly casino denizens with portable respirators all come out to enjoy the warm summer air, stroll along the Truckee River and feel like they're part of a community.

There's plenty I could be worried about right now. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach this morning when I heard that Sandra Day O'Connor was stepping down from the U.S. Supreme Court. This might be the harbinger of a political pitched-battle that will further tear at the seams of this already frighteningly divided country. The President, never much for compromise, is unlikely to nominate a moderate because in the minds of his hard-core base this is what they've been working toward for decades--the chance to finally tilt the nation's highest court firmly in the direction of theocracy. As for my personal life, I continue to struggle with learning the ropes of a difficult new job. And then there are all the other things the media is always telling me I should worry about; you know, shark attacks, Mad Cow Disease, getting kidnapped in Aruba, all that stuff that's likely to happen to me if I ever leave my house or vote for a Democrat.

But for now I'm not going to worry. The night is young, the air is warm and dry, and Melissa and I actually have the same day off tomorrow (only the third time this has happened since I've known her). So for now, I'm just going to enjoy the Summer.