“The sloth’s slow journey is a reminder that the destination is not the only thing that matters.”
My father would say it’s a scorcher. It is already 88° with 70% humidity. The cape is always cooler than near Boston in the summer so today is uncharacteristically hot for this early in the summer. My back door has a southern view so if there is a breeze, it comes from there, and I can feel one very now and then. Nala is lying in the hall to take advantage of that breeze. Poor boxers with their short noses don’t do as well as other dogs in the heat. Henry is stretched out in the kitchen by the back door. Both are asleep.
My mother always kept the shades down in every room on hot days. The house was a bit cooler but seemed cave-like in the darkness. I don’t have shades in my windows so the sun travels around the house and comes through the windows from front to back. I am in the back of the house so it is the coolest spot most of the day.
I was on a drill team for years. Every summer we had competitions on the weekends. Our uniforms had long sleeves, and the skirts too were long and were heavy. We wore boots. We’d stand outside in the sun waiting for our turn on the field. We’d start on the third line, move to the inspection line then on to the ready line. Marchers fainted. I remember one of my friends fainting on the ready line. They hauled her off so we could start. Nothing deterred us. If someone fainted on the field during maneuvers, you just had to sort of walk around or over them. If you didn’t, you could lose cadence and step counts which could result in a lower score. We were hardy souls back then.
I have no intention of doing anything today. It is the perfect day for all of us to embrace our inner sloths. Let’s find a big branch on a leafy tree and just lie in the shade. If we need a snack, we can just grab a leaf and take our time eating it. We can listen to the birds and nap a bit. If only….
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July 2, 2026 at 7:04 pm
Today I took a short train journey with three friends. We went to Dorchester. After a café stop we shuffled, as only old men can, into a pedestrianised street of shops. Oddly, a strange red and white flag was flying outside a locked church. None could identify the significance of that pennant. We eventually went to a pseudo French restaurant and had a good lunch and enjoyable conversation. Back home this evening, I watched the football (soccer) match between Spain and Austria. There was that red and white banner again. It is the Austrian national flag!
July 2, 2026 at 10:29 pm
Peter,
Did you figure out why an Austrian flag was on that church? It sounds just so random.
I always wish we had the same rail system as you do. There is rail between big cities but not between towns in this state. In the summer there is a weekend train from Boston to the cape but it does little to eliminate car back-ups at the bridges onto the cape.
I used to take the train often In Ghana, but it is gone now. They are trying to bring it back but, once gone, that is quite difficult to do. I used to take the train often.
July 3, 2026 at 3:45 am
I have no explanation for the flag. I took the trouble to walk around the perimeter of the church, but the building was locked up, and I met no-one whom I could talk with. I went into a charity shop nearby and asked a young man who was behind the counter, but he knew nothing. The rural train services are generally efficient and comfortable, although not cheap. I paid £16 for the 54 mile round trip.
July 4, 2026 at 9:39 am
Peter,
There is a famous Scandinavian town in the mountains of one of the states, one I forget. It flies the flag of Sweden. Maybe it is some sort of a conclave.