Today is day “when kings in gold suits ride elephants over mountains.” My 12th grade humanities teacher used to say that to us every morning I believe in reference to a William Carlos Williams poem about Hannibal. My teacher was nearly identical to Robin Williams’ character in Dead Poet’s Society, which is pretty remarkable for an otherwise staid public high school. On occasion since 12th grade I’ve have exclaimed this phrase at spontaneous moments of bliss. This morning, with the heat and humidity kicked to the curb, a most glorious morning dawned and this quote bubbled up and out of me as I headed to work.
Yesterday was a different story. Yesterday I played soccer with a team I joined a while back and thought I was going to die. It was about 90 degrees and 100% humidity. I’m very out of shape and, dare I say it, no spring chicken. Soccer, unlike other 30 something sports such as softball or bocce ball or silly kickball, is not for the faint of heart. Literally. And yesterday I thought I was going to both faint and have a heart attack. Because it’s a co-ed league, the league requires 2 women on the field at all times. Only 2 women showed up which meant I had to play the whole game. Did I mention that I was old and out of shape? There was a point toward the end of the game when it actually hurt to breathe in, because I’m pretty certain the dense hot air of the day was hotter than my body temperature. I had a horrible feeling, as my body demanded oxygen, that there was no longer oxygen left on the planet. Instead it had been replaced by some dreadfully noxious and searing hot fume. Not a good sign. Exhaustion after the game was other worldly. I dumped water on my head and wrists and neck to survive. To survive!
The good news is that I have pretty good muscle memory. I.e., I can still play soccer. It’s great actually to know that all of those years of playing will be with me forever. Even if my body can’t quite handle the pace, I can still dribble, shoot and hopefully score as if I have never stopped playing (or stopped playing not too long ago…)
I wish the break in weather had come a day early, but do not dwell on it. Well, I do a bit, because I just got up to go out for a few minutes and realized that my muscles are still in spasm from yesterday. But other than the hobbling I’m just enjoying the day. In fact, everyone in DC has a smile on their face today. It’s simply beautiful. Here’s hoping it doesn’t revert to the dreaded HHH weather too soon.
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