TheBanyanTree: Thunder and Lightning

[Margaret R. Kramer]

Boom!  Flash!  Ray and I cracked open our eyes around 3:00 am or so.  We
didn’t move from the bed, we didn’t shift our positions, but we could see
the pulses of light slipping through the blinds’ cracks and the house
shaking a bit as the thunder boomed outside.  We didn’t get up to check.  We
trusted that the storm wouldn’t cause any damage.  We hoped it would provide
us with enough water to green up things again and that’s all.

We’ve had so few storms this spring and summer, it is amazing we didn’t
spend time sitting at the window watching this rare event.  There was a half
inch of water in the rain gauge, so I won’t have to water the gardens or the
yard today.  We haven’t had enough rain and it’s been hot, and our grass
hasn’t grown at all, so I won’t have mow today either.  Maybe next week.

Asher, Susan, boys, and I went downtown Minneapolis last Sunday to check out
the bridge.  We couldn’t get very close to it to see much.  The city had
opened up the Stone Arch Bridge again, that wonderful old railroad bridge
now turned into a pedestrian and bike bridge, and one of my most favorite
spots in the whole world, and we walked across it, squinting our eyes and
trying to bring into focus the damaged 35W Bridge about a mile away.

Lots of people were also on the Stone Arch Bridge.  Most of them were quiet
and respectful, just like they are at the Gettysburg battlefield or I’m sure
while viewing concentration camps or former slave jails or visiting the 9/11
site.  There are parts of this earth where so much pain and death and
suffering occurred that these places are hallowed ground and are
automatically respected by people, whether they’re aware of it or not.

The bridge and river have released nine victims so far and just a few more
need to be found.  All the injured have left the hospitals.  It’s amazing
the injured and death tolls weren’t higher.  Now the fighting begins over
money and whose fault it was and I’m sure lawyers are smelling some good
profits out of potential lawsuits.

Otherwise, it’s been a boring week in St. Paul.  I turned on the air
conditioning again, because of the heat and humidity.  I harvested the first
tomatoes of the summer from our garden.  I’m about 7/8 through the last
Harry Potter book.  It’s a great book and I’m sure if I was a kid again, I
wouldn’t have put it down until I had read it through, cover to cover.

We live close to the Highland Park aquatic center in St. Paul.  They
remodeled this park last fall and winter.  It has a double sized swimming
pool.  It has a diving pool.  And several children’s pools.  It’s clean and
neat and watched over by beautiful old trees.  It’s kind of expensive – a
family pass for one day is $18.  But we’ve spent many fun hours there during
this hot summer.  My older grandson took his first jump off of the diving
board in June.  The pool challenges the boys’ swimming skills, as now they
can tread water and swim in deep water without worrying about “touching.”

The pool has lap swim times for adults from 5:00 – 6:30 pm every day.  I
swim laps at least once a week at the club, but I really wanted to try to
swim laps outside.  Wouldn’t that be fun?  So, finally, after waiting until
August, I found the time to go lap swimming at the Highland Pool last week.

It was a perfect summer later afternoon, warm but not hot, not too windy.  I
got in the water and began swimming.  I had to learn lap etiquette, because
at the club all the lanes are separated by bobbers, but in the Highland
pool, there are no lane dividers.  Plus, when I swim at the club, I’m
usually the only one in the pool, because I work out so early, 4:00 am, so I
don’t have to share.  The first time I went lap swimming at Highland, there
were lots of swimmers, and darn, I had to be aware of where I was going so I
wouldn’t slam into anyone.

It was great to watch the sun move towards in horizon in the west.  It was
great to watch the water aerobics class as I swam into the shallow end.  It
was great to hear the splashes of the swimmers as they made their way back
and forth in the pool.  And the churning water, oh my gosh, it was great to
feel a good workout for my arms and legs as I churned through it, too.

I swam solid for an hour and five minutes.  I didn’t take any resting breaks
at the shallow end.  I just swam and swam until I got tired.  It was great
swimming in those longer lanes and not having flip over so soon and swim
back.

I dried myself off and then went home.  I did it all over again one evening
this past week.  I loved how my body tingled throughout the evening after
that great workout.

Of course, the pool is closing for the season at the end of this month, so I
don’t have much time to take advantage of this new way of exercising, but at
least I had a chance to give it a try this summer.

Yes, we’re in the dog days of August.  Before global warming, we began
cooling down during this month, but not anymore.  August in Minnesota can
now be as hot as July.  The weather all over the world is wacky as global
warming entrenches itself more firmly each year.

We’re going to be hot and humid again today.  The line of storms we had
early this morning did not bring with them cooler and refreshing air.  It
seems much of the United States is sweltering this summer.  The beach sounds
like a good plan.  And maybe finishing Harry Potter . . .

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
margaret.kramer at polarispublications.com

In my garden there is a large place for sentiment.  My garden of flowers is
also my garden of thoughts and dreams.  The thoughts grow as freely as the
flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful.
~Abram L. Urban