I know. I know. It is later than usual. I admit I allowed my sloth to drive. I took my time on the paper and all the puzzles (which I successfully completed), ordered my groceries and paid some bills. I even brought some trash to the car and dusted a couple of shelves. All of this was done with not a list in sight, and I am not even finished. I have more I want to do today including vacuuming the tumbleweeds of Henry fur.

When I was a kid, I was never really into clothes. I was into comfort. The only exceptions were when I was a teen, and I wore the uniform of every teen especially one year, the year of stirrup ski pants and fluffy sweaters. My sweater was pink. My pants were black. In Ghana I had to wear dresses every day. During my first year I had several made with Ghanaian cloth by a seamstress. That was for when I was in public. In the house, after my shower, I wore comfy clothes. I really didn’t complain so much about the dresses. They were cool in the heat. For most of my professional life here I wore dresses and skirts. I was not a fan of either. My winter comfy clothes were hoodies, pants and flannel shirts while in summer I wore mostly short sleeve shirts and exchanged my shoes for sandals. Around the house I wear t-shirts and casual pants, not fit for the eyes of the outside world. My inside clothes are often worn in places and have holes, but I don’t care. My fashion sense ends when I walk into the house.

Today is hot and partly cloudy. Nary a breeze blows. I have the fan going here in the den. It is cool enough. Both dogs are sleeping. Earlier they were both panting, Nala far more than Henry. Poor boxers don’t abide the heat well. Nala is asleep beside me and enjoying the fan. I don’t mind sharing.

I have always loved summer nights. In the field below my house fireflies flitted and darted, their flames blinking as they flew across the tall grass. I used to sit on the embankment above the hill and watch. I’d try to follow one firefly. I found out in my trusty encyclopedia that both males and females blink. The males blink to attract females, and the females blink their responses. Their flashes sync. When I was really little, I thought fireflies were fairies, relatives of Tinker Bell. I could hear from beyond the field the sounds of frogs and crickets on the swamp. The sounds were really songs, quiet, rhythmic songs. I used to love to fall asleep listening to them.

I have fireflies in my yard and frog songs from the tiny pond at the end of my street. Because they are there, I still believe in fairies and night music.

The day is lovely. The few clouds don’t obscure the sun. It is 80°. A breeze is constant and cooling. Lately the nights have gone down to the 60’s, wonderful for sleeping. These lower temperatures are previews of fall and warnings that summer is closing. Fall is nudging.

My friends and I often went to the midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show. We yelled lines and brought props. It is still a favorite film of mine. I love the view of the heels on the elevator as it descends, and that first look at Frank-N-Furter’s face. I even have an old vinyl soundtrack album, and I saw the play in Boston. Tim Curry was the most amazing Frank.

When I was a kid, I loved movies, especially science fiction movies, the old black and whites from the 50’s. They had a plot formula. Most aliens wanted Earth. Creatures destroyed cities and ate people whole. Pandemics killed people or turned them into zombies. Ordinary creatures like spiders or ants became enormous. They too ate people. They kept their creature characteristics which made them scarier. Spiders wove huge webs big enough to catch people. Ants dug holes for their queens. There were pirañhas and alligators and sharks. The water creatures had enormous teeth. They too ate people. I was not a kid easily scared by all these creatures. I really enjoyed these movies, still do. I search for them and hope to find one I haven’t seen or saw so long ago I don’t remember. When I do, I pop the corn and while away the evening watching.

I have always been an egg fan. My mother used to make us eggs in egg cups on winter mornings. She’d cut the toast to fit the top of the egg. I didn’t know the formal name for these eggs was soft-boiled eggs. She’d also make dropped eggs on toast. I was older before I learned they were actually poached eggs. She used to make them in boiling water. She always made sure the yolks were still soft. She’d sometimes make egg salad for Friday’s school lunch. I only liked the salad if it had celery and lettuce. Egg salad needed crunch. My mother’s peppers and eggs were the things of legend. My friend used to make the best deviled eggs. My fridge always has eggs.

I have a concert today. I had one yesterday. Today it is the Beatles.Yesterday it was the Beach Boys.