Thursday, July 3, 2008

And Thursday isn't much faster.

There is one thing about all the weather we’ve had, it remains a way to open my blogs. Just for the record, I do notice that other blogs I read aren’t nearly as consumed by the weather as mine are. But I’m a proud older person whose body gets seriously affected by dampness. I had hoped the changeover from one of the wettest months in recorded weather history would become a super weather month. So far, it hasn’t. And I can’t seem to get my bones dried out, so I continue to feel a little sorry for myself.

The humidity even affects my workouts at my Senior Fitness class at a local physical therapy center. The exercise that gets most affected is the one trying to get my hip to work better. It has been reconstructed and I do a series of leg things designed to strengthen the hip. Right now they are very painful and the staff doesn’t support that old saying we used as kids, “No pain, no gain.”

But I survived and am now home again. My wife has been outside ever since I left for the class shortly after seven this morning. Because of the weather and her work schedule, her vegetable gardens have discovered how to grow weeds. She’s discovering how to ungrow them this morning. She hopes to have her work done before the rains return to the area this afternoon.

I may be the only one who doesn’t know, but I still haven’t heard or read anything new about the so-called People’s Veto of a huge tax increase passed by the last legislature. Last weekend was scheduled to be the last weekend of signature collection so the completed petitions could be submitted to local election officials for verification. The organizers need nearly 56-thousand signatures to get the veto on November’s ballot. But either I’m blind to the news or the veto organizers are being extremely secretive on how the drive went.

We did learn that organizers of another People’s Veto to overturn the Real I.D. license compromise are having a final, major push this weekend. But that’s about all I’ve heard on that one, too.

The price of oil has climbed once again. I read this morning it’s now up to $146/barrel. The gas station near where I live had dropped its prices by three cents earlier this week, but it’s now back up two cents per gallon for regular. This isn’t looking good for the price of heating oil next winter. I also read that some companies are how ending their pre-buy plans or setting very high prices simply because they can’t guess what next winter’s prices will be. I did get locked in, but I’ve friends who are waiting it out hoping for a break in the prices. The oil nations are telling America to drill their own oil and don’t tell them what to charge.

The cost of doing business in Maine is causing one company to tell the City of Bangor it will end its long time contract at the end of the year. Mobil-Exxon, which supplies all the fuel for Bangor International Airport, says the state’s tax structure is driving them out.

WG is finishing up her weeding for this morning. She says she’s now working in the sun and it’s getting too hot. My weather station says the temperatures are now in the 70s, but wherever Google gets its reading from says it hasn’t hit 70 yet. I don’t know what WG has in mind for us once she gets herself cleaned up. Probably it’ll be something inside the house.

As tomorrow approaches, think for a minute or two about just how lucky we are to be living in the United States. The freedoms we enjoy are unparalleled. I know I’m very thankful for this great country and for all the sacrifices that have been made over the years to keep it great. Unfortunately, there is a movement afoot to make dramatic changes.

Nevertheless, we wish our nation a Happy Birthday, America, tomorrow. I heard some fireworks off in the distance last night and I think both Scarborough and Sanford had their fireworks celebrations then. There are more for tonight and then a whole bunch tomorrow. I hope you all have a very safe and happy Fourth of July Holiday Weekend.

GiM

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