Today it really hit me that summer is coming.
Was it the last few weeks of increasing temperatures? No.
Could it have been the time of the year? Nope.
Maybe I'm an avid Weather Channel viewier? Not bloody likely.
So what was it that gave me this revelation today that, yes, finally Jack Forst is going to sod
off and leave us with some finer isobars?

Today, while tripping off to the post office, I had to turn on the Air Conditioning in the
pick-up. Nope, I'm not kidding you. That's what I was missing to make that final realisation
hit home - A/C. God bless it.
Sure, I can face the honest truth - this is Iowa.
It'll probably snow this coming weekend.
But, hey, I don't care. I don't care because I know that on the horizon, somewhere, not far away
is summer.

Where I come from, the weather is pretty mild - to say the least - compared to Iowa.
It gets a little warm in the summer, and a little chilly in the winter - but bless it, thats
about the size of it.
If you brought someone from my homeland and sat them in Iowa and said 'Here, spend a couple years
here and come back and tell us what you think', I know exactly what they'll say.
Mostly because thats basically what's happening to me right now - but asides from that;
They'd exclaim, 'Piss on this place, its winter for six months of the year!'

Of course what am I in for now? 98F/37C degree days, 99% humidity, sweating, exhaustion and
lethargy. Warm days? Summer? For a New Zealander, Iowa in the summer is like a nice visit to Hell.
Three whole damned months of it, no less.
Weeks of wandering around praying for a breeze - not that it helps - and wearing white clothing in
a vain effort to beat back the suns' rays. Hats to stop the sun burning my nose. Sticky, greasy
sunscreen so I don't burn my legs and have to walk like John Wayne.
Climbing into our Cadillac, leaping around on the scorching dark blue leather seats like Mexican
Jumping Beans on a hot-plate, starting the car and waiting eagerly for the A/C to kick in and
start cooling the cabin, hoarding over the air vents like its the very breath of Christ himself.
And, damnit, I can't wait!

Addendum: (22nd April) It did snow on the weekend.