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A summer cold -- 07/21/12



Summer colds are miserable things to have.

There does seem to be something "going around" -- or maybe multiple things. I was really worried on Wednesday that I had pink eye (conjunctivitis). Someone on our 48 Hour Film Project team had come down with it (she stayed home from Tuesday night's screening because of it) and so every little itch and twitch made me worry it was creeping up on me.

Wednesday Jill and I went for a walk/run around noon on an extremely hot (and humid) day. We walked a mile as a warm-up and then ran. I got a bit carried away and we did a 9:21 mile. Big deal, right? Except that is more than a minute faster than any mile I have run this year. I tend to do miles between 10:30 and 11:00. I haven't had any speed for the past two or three years, not since I had all that time off from running because of my torn Achilles tendon and surgery, etc. I've never gotten back to actual running (as opposed to jogging) and have had no speed since then. Gee, maybe I've been working out enough this summer that I am almost back to the point of being able to do some speed work. (Defining speed work as being at age 69 appropriate speeds. I could do a mile in 6:45 when I was in my late fifties... and in the 6:15 to 6:20 range when I was 50... now I would be overjoyed to break nine.) Then we jogged another mile at a slower pace (even walked a block) and then we quit because the day was just too wicked hot.

So I go back to work at the computers and my eyes are itching and bothering me and Nancy looked at me and said that my eyes were all bloodshot and very red around the edges and I looked as if I were coming down with pink eye. Apparently this was actually due to sweat getting in my eyes, because the redness went away. Unfortunately, that evening I began to have a sore throat... and when I woke up on Thursday, I definitely had a cold, one of those annoying summer colds.

This is the annual Balloon Festival weekend (held on the URI campus) and they are having a perfect weekend -- sunshine and warm summer temperatures without the oppressive heat and humidity. Here's Jeremy last night at the Burger Shack tent.

Unfortunately, Friday had been rainy in the morning and overcast and cool in the afternoon and evening. Thus, there was very little in the way of business on Friday evening (note the lone burger on the grill) -- however, today business should really be bustling with large and hungry crowds.

Some of the competition for business will come from these barbecue vendors. They have been drawn by a barbecue contest on Sunday, where the winner will get an entry into the Jack Daniels World Championship Barbecue Contest. I guess this is a big deal.


The whole point of having a balloon festival, of course, is to have a bunch of balloons. Last night this seemed to be the only balloon bothering to launch. I would bet that this morning's launch saw a full complement of balloons launching and that the same may be expected for this evening's launch and again for tomorrow. Today's weather is beautiful. Despite feeling as if I have been run over, I think I will try to get out into the sunshine.

One last picture... Some dealer in exotic cars had some of his inventory on display and this Porsche Boxter definitely caught my attention. What a beautiful machine.

Now for some lunch and a cough suprescent and maybe reading for a while in the pleasant summer warmth (and then maybe a nap). I really do not like summer colds.


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