Indian Summer

[poliphilo]

I haven't checked, but I suspect yesterday was even warmer than the day before. I was sitting out in the backyard yesterday evening, looking at the stars through my binoculars, wearing jeans and a T shirt- and that really shouldn't be feasible at this time of year.

Nakisha next door doesn't wear the hijab- except as part of her school uniform. I caught her yesterday, returned from school,  unwinding yards of material from around her head. I wish the human race would hurry up and outgrow the Abrahamic religions. They've served their turn and now they're holding us back. Buddhism can stay. Buddhism is more flexible.

The phrase Indian summer" is an Americanism. And there was I thinking it had to do with chaps in pith helmets drinking chota pegs on the verandah. The usual suspects have been saying it should be "Native American Summer"- but really it's too late to develop a conscience about something so well-embedded in the language. The old English alternative is St. Martin's Summer- which  is pretty, but doesn't convey the same immediate impression of heat.

My friend who died in March wrote academic theology. I was reading some of it yesterday. It used words only a professor could love and had no discernible passion.  I picture myself handing it back to him with a smile, saying, "Yeah, interesting,"- and hoping he wouldn't press me any further.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Britain has switched to Centigrade, but I still think in Farenheit- and I've no idea how to convert from one to the other.

I was talking across the wall to our neighbour this morning- we were all outside because of the sunny weather- and she was saying that there's snow coming.

[zen-punk.livejournal.com]

I hope we never switch away from fahrenheit. The range of the scale and the size of the units are far more appropriate for describing the sorts of temperatures a human is likely to encounter in daily life, something that's glossed over in the rush to bash the "antiquated" way of doing things.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

You're right. It makes human sense for the point at which it starts to be too hot for comfort to be around 100 degrees.