What I Did On My Summer No-cation

I hope everyone reading this has had a good summer so far. Labor Day and football season are almost here, so I decided since I'm just sitting here doing my usual monotasking at the computer, why not write a blog post and get the old creative juices dripping again?

You'll notice that today's blog is more personal than it has been. Is this, you ask, because I value your readership so much that I want to share with you the inner workings of my mind? No. It's because I ran out of ideas in May and my brain is still bankrupt. So since I have no inner workings to speak of, I'll just report on what's been going on in and around my life so that you can feel so much better about your own.

Let's see. . . .

My only sibling, Terry, flew out from Maine to spend eleven days with me. We hadn't seen each other in 3 1/2 years, our longest time apart, Turns out she likes Boise and all my friends so much that she's returning next year. (I'm assuming wanting to see me fits somewhere into her decision.)

Four movies were worth my getting out of the house for: Inside Out is possibly the best animated film I've ever seen, certainly one of the top ten. If you haven't seen it, you simply must. I laughed a lot watching Spy, featuring Melissa McCarthy's funniest performance since Bridesmaids. I didn't mind the R-rated language during the first half; in fact, it added a nice oomph to some of the best lines. However, the poopy machine must have gone haywire after that -- even Andrew Dice Clay would have been embarrassed watching it. Amy, about the late Amy Winehouse, is the best documentary I've seen this year. It was so intimate that when I saw the stretcher with the sheet over her near the end of the film, it felt like a punch in the gut, as if someone close to me had really died. Finally, I was going to skip seeing Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation because I doubted it could even be half as entertaining as the last installment, Ghost Protocol. Some friends talked me into going, so I went. Shows how much I know. At one nerve-racking point, I found myself laughing out loud with glee because it was just so perfectly done.

I had a mystery story and one or two poems published. It's nice when that happens. I've been playing Hemingway in Paris lately, too -- taking a notebook or a book of poems downtown to one of my two favorite cafes and sitting outside to read, write, and watch people going by. The two poets whose works I've been enjoying most are Gregory Corso and Charles Reznikoff. Corso is the only Beat poet whom I've found almost consistently interesting. I've only just discovered Reznikoff, whose collection Holocaust isn't exactly beach reading, though it's thoroughly rewarding.

In national news, Bruce Jenner became Caitlin Jenner and won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. I understand I'm required by law not to joke about this.

I untied my Cable One bundle and released my cable TV connection. Living without television has been remarkably easy for me. (You have to understand that in grade school I could tell you what shows were on at what time and on which channels. The TV Guide Fall Preview issue was my Holy Grail.) However, when someone asked me how I planned to survive the 2015 football season, I realized I couldn't. So I bought an HDTV indoor antenna from Radio Shack (I know -- I didn't think they were still in business, either), and I'm all set. Instead of the four or five channels I expected to receive, I found out I actually get 33 of them, which makes me wonder why I ever bothered with cable in the first place. (True story: Within a week after dropping the service, I dreamed that I regretted it because Michael Landon had come back from the dead and was hosting Saturday Night Live.)

Without TV, I've been listening to much more music than usual. My summer passions have included Kasey Chambers, Adele, Hole, Emmylou Harris, Frank Sinatra, and Diana Krall. How's that for eclectic? Say what you will about Courtney Love (or I'll happily say it for you), but she can rock, and she's written some good songs. If you're not familiar with Chambers, an Australian country-folk performer, go to YouTube and check out her voice on the song "Barricades and Brick Walls." You'll know by the end of the first line whether you're destined to be a diehard fan.

Boise set a record for hot weather on June 28, and I understand that today (August 13th) we've done it again with a temperature of at least 105. It's surprising to me how easily I've adapted to temps edging past 100. Maybe it's because I spent so many years on the East Coast, where stepping outside Miami International Airport used to feel like someone pressing a hot washcloth over my face. Stepping outside today felt like I needed a few more sweaters.

In local news, a bicyclist accidentally set a 73-acre fire in the foothills when he burned some toilet paper he had just finished using. This is how Boise makes the national news. (My friend Guy told me the same thing happened here several years ago, only many more acres burned and the inadvertent culprit was an environmentalist.)

Maybe I should have put my YMCA membership on ice for the summer. I haven't been going much at all. The weather has been too gorgeous (even at 100 degrees), so I've been taking long walks instead. My goal has been to lose weight or maintain what I already have, but, unlike the treadmill at the Y, a long walk can take you past some awfully tasty restaurants. (I personally recommend the grilled foot-long dog at the Westside Drive-In, which has plenty of outdoor tables for relaxing.)

So that's been my summer, more or less. I'll report back with periodic updates on what it's like being me..