Skip the AC, the air is just fine.

We have had a cool summer.  The bedroom windows are open and my bedroom is a bit chilly.  I have a coat on.  The highs have only been in the late 70's to lower 80's.  My electric bill is loving it.  Frankly, we are too.  We've certainly walked a lot more than we have in any summer past.  There has been enough rain to keep the rain barrels humming.  I haven't had to use municipal water once in my quest to keep the plants alive.

But we do have to wear coats in the mornings during what is normally the dog days of summer.  Makes me wonder if a similar winter will repeat itself.

I hope not.

Here's to hoping the air is chilled and the hum of the AC can be turned off in your neighborhood.  Have a great weekend!

A lot of loss.

My poor brother.  My brother, affectionately known as "Dumpy," has once again suffered the loss of a friend.  The friend was a neighbor of ours growing up.  He was one of the kids who lived two houses down.  This young man was traveling between bars on a newly owned Harley when he lost control in some curves in back city roads.  He revved the motor to pull out of it and instead of pulling out of it, he launched himself from the bike, 4 feet into the air, causing instant death when he met up with the telephone pole.  Since the bleed-out was so massive, the thought was that perhaps he tore open the aorta on impact.  My brother and his friends went to the scene later on the next day and found a pool of blood on the roadway.  There was massive bleeding.  I told him that in this case, instantaneous death was a blessing. They said that he died before he fell to the roadway.

My heart aches for the parents.  This young man was a few years younger than my brother-- 26 years old.  While his final choices weren't the best, he has parents, families and a one year old daughter and her mother.  The one year old?  She has multiple issues and has already had multiple surgeries.  My mom and dad spent a few hours with his parents the other day.  Both of my parents are in tears and I know that my mom is probably not sleeping because of it.

He was a neighborhood kid growing up.

My brother wasn't best friends with this young man.  The young man's lifestyle of "work through the week and drink the check on the weekend" wasn't quite where my brother is at in his life.  He has three kids and a wife.  They have jobs and bills and whatnot.  Bless him.  He's grown up and is trying to be responsible.  Still, he was friends with him and the loss has hit him hard.

This isn't where the trail of loss ends for my brother.  Right before high school graduation, I think maybe 3 or 4 kids (out of a class of about 160-180) died from a variety of accidents.  He has also lost friends in Iraq and Afghanistan-- one of which was a very best friend.  He and his friends work hard to keep Nate's memory alive with poker runs and having a stretch of the highway (that runs along the back of my parent's property) dedicated in his name.

It just seems that my poor brother is talking about one more person who died.  I feel sorry for him.  It makes me very sad for him.