the watch of time

It’s early July, and the times (i.e. morning and night), they’re only limited respites from hot and humid.

What could be more fun?  According to some pundits in the media in Canada, we should be grateful for whatever we get, because it’s much better than the cold of mid-winter.  Indeed, they consider the extremely uncomfortable conditions in eastern Canada this past week, outside the protection of air-conditioning, are simply part of the price to pay.

Why do so many seem to dwell on tipping the balance of what otherwise would seem to the solstice semi-annual trade-offs?

Meanwhile, there are a lot of us happy with average daily high and low temperatures, no need to try to boil the thermometer.  After all, moderation in all things…

So, to put things in perspective, what, really, could be more fun than the setting of new humidex bars of discomfort?  (Note: this hypothetical could also apply to certain political rallies, especially in the U.S.)

• Sliding down a barbed-wire fence
• Having dental surgery without freezing; or, having the freezing
• Finding a winning lottery ticket for which the cash-in deadline has just expired
• Being the tenth person in line to use the same cloth to clean up
• Looking up words in a dictionary which does not list them in alphabetical order
• Being awarded $10 coupons toward the purchase of expensive sports cars
• Wearing clothes which were comfortable two sizes ago
• The day after confirming a fabulous vacation, a medical appointment you can’t avoid is re-scheduled to the same week
• Purchasing a rare, expensive baseball card, three days before a cache of the same card is uncovered in someone’s attic
• Celebrating finally getting a hole-in-one, then noticing it was the wrong green
• Being stepped on by ten people, at once, in a crowded elevator
• Finding a $20 bill on the street, then realizing your wallet is missing

Of course, there are many other examples, but not necessarily as enjoyable as these.