Salt Miner

I complain too much about the heat at this time of year. There was a time when it truly felt intolerable. Now, though, it's more of a nuisance than a major burden. Hell, I went jogging in the middle of the afternoon the other day, for one-and-a-half times my normal run, despite the fact that the temperature was over 100 and my legs and "breathers" are pretty out of shape for that sort of exercise. I survived without incident. And there are certain things about this time of year that I've come to anticipate with pleasure. The departure of the students I'm least likely to like, for one thing, following the departure of the senior citizens I'm least likely to like. The knowledge that the Monsoon will be here in less than two months, for another. But my favorite aspect of the current season is the intense craving I get for certain food and drink. Normally I'm not much of a tortilla chip fan. Right now, though, I am regularly overcome by the urge to dip a handful in spicy salsa.

That last word is the key. Given how dry it is right now, the impulse to slow down the loss of fluids feels like an biological imperative. I want salt badly, whether in a margarita or anchovy sauce. Also, I love the way it feels to go to the pool at this time of year. I sit in the shade, reading, as if I were in a sauna -- not too far from the truth -- until I feel too desiccated to continue, then plunge into the blissfully eighty-degree water. And when I'm done floating or walking or swimming, I climb out and glory in the sensation of being air dried in minutes. Sometimes I fantasize that I'm a strip of beef drying in the rooftop sun. Maybe that's not your idea of fun, but I have a soft spot for extremity. I am also particularly eager for the full heat of the pre-Monsoon season to arrive, because it will mean the end of the allergy conditions that continue to make me periodically -- but no longer constantly -- miserable.