A really nice Wednesday

The last Wednesday of the month is, as you know, one of my favorite days. This is the day my group of retired friends meets for lunch and good discussions. We all retired from the same place so that institution is usually one of our topics. There will be one “seasonal” member joining us for the first time since he returned from his Florida home a few weeks ago. His main residence is in Florida but he returns to Maine for the summer months.

What a beautiful day this beginning portends! The day dawned with beautiful skies and bright sunshine, almost like it did yesterday. There’s one difference, the weather is being driven by a high pressure system which means we should remain a nice day throughout. Yesterday deteriorated rapidly in the afternoon and by late afternoon some serious thunder boomers paraded through the region. For the second day in a row, we had some real downpours but the thunder, unlike previous afternoons, was almost on top of us. There was one time I counted just one second between the flash and the boom. My little weather station recorded more than a half inch of new rain.

The Red Sox finally found their bats again last night and pulled out a come-from-behind victory over the Diamondbacks. I read about the game this morning. I’m among the minority that doesn’t like these interleague games and so I don’t watch them. Of course I wouldn’t have watched last night anyway as Game Two of the College World Series was on. Being a Gator, I was hoping the SEC Georgia would win, but, alas! they lost a squeaker. 19-10, I think, was the final score as Fresno State evened up the best of three series. The last game of the college season will be played tonight…winner takes all.

MaineToday.com is reporting this morning that the Portland School Committee will be asked to consider putting a wind turbine at the East End Community School. The first step would be to put up a small tower to measure the amount of wind at the location and to learn if it could sustain enough energy. Isn’t the school on the Eastern Promenade, or close to it, in Portland? My first reaction is that if it’s the school I think it is, then that location should be a fantastic location for wind right off the bay. In any case, I think it’s good that the school department is at least positively looking for fresh energy sources.

I’m a dog person. I love dogs. I’m not a cat person. Now I don’t hate cats, but I’m not sure one would ever find a home in my house. Yes, I am. I’m sure it wouldn’t happen. That said, the young woman who helped me start this blogging business last December is a cat person. She has two, one of which is a new one she obtained to fill a void left by another that passed. Her usual knitting blog has been filled with tales of the new arrival for the past week or so. Today she has a picture on the blog that warms the heart of even non-cat people. It is a precious picture. If you’d like to see it (and read an excellent blog that sets up the picture beautifully) visit Sheepish Annie and scroll to the end of today’s post. Be prepared to utter an “Oooooh.”

There are several petitions floating around Maine, including a couple that are so-called “People’s Veto” of laws enacted last session by the legislature. The deadline for these particular petitions is rapidly approaching. It seems to me the organizers are being very quiet on their progress. I wonder how they’re doing, if they are approaching their nearly 56-thousand signature goals or if they’ll blow away in the wind by the mid-July deadline. I certainly have no clue. It wouldn’t take much imagination to figure out the news media doesn’t support them considering the progress reports, or lack of them, in the news.

A great day is in store for us. According to all reports, the weather should be great all day and I’m betting on great conversation at lunch time with some very good fellow retirees.

GiM