Thursday, 102, Friday 100, Saturday predicted 100--in Portland.

Once we left REI Thursday, I got my camera out again, just in case something caught my eye. It didn't take long, either. Here's the framework that obviously used to hold a different water tower. Right after I snapped this photo, I looked up at Lamont and said, "That looks like an alien spaceship that grew legs." He laughed, dutiful son that he is!

Those temps in the headline come from the Portland airport, wherever it's read out there on the Columbia River, northeast of our apartment. Around the metro area, and out into the nearby countryside, some places reported 100, 101, 102, and 104 degrees today! After work I was talking to my bud Eve, down in Mississippi, on the phone, telling her how we were fine once we got situated in our chairs in front of fans. "You don't have AC?" she yelped. "No, we've never had it up here," I replied. "We could buy one of those little window units, but we'd probably need three of them to make a difference." Then I went on to explain that we really didn't need any AC because it doesn't get this hot that often. In fact, starting Monday our predicted high temps range in the 70s. And just two weeks ago, our night temps were in the cool 50s--wonderful sleeping weather.

Let me tell you something that made Mama and me laugh Friday night. We're sitting at the table, in front of one fan that sits in the window and another fan across the living room, pointed right at us, eating some Breyers Lactose Free vanilla ice cream. In between spoonfuls, she looks at me, in all seriousness and says, "I think it's cooling off quicker tonight than it did last night." I look back at her and say, "Do you think it might have something to do with the fact that we're sitting in front of two fans on high, eating ice cream?" Then we laughed and laughed. Good memories are made of such moments.