Rain and clothes drying on hay.

The rain started yesterday mid afternoon. I was working and the sound didn't register in my mind at first. It had been so long since we had rain the sound was oddly not recognizable. The rain stopped two minutes after it started. When I came out of the building to get the mail there hadn't been enough water fall to cover the truck; just wet spots on the paint.

Later it was pouring when I left work.

This morning it was a gentle steady rain. This went on for several hours.

When I went out for lunch it was no longer raining. The grass seemed greener. Flowers were standing up straighter. The best part was it was fifteen degrees cooler!

The month of June was the hottest average temperature since 1952 in Louisville. I wake up in the morning cool, having slept under a ceiling fan all night, but moving around even a little means I sweat and am sticky. It has become my habit to immediately get in the shower. I don't wait for the water to warm up; just a cold shower and eventually a warm one. I stay downstairs until after lunch, so the AC isn't needed so much.

Now July has started hot. This week it was 97 three days in a row. With the rain it will be cool until Sunday. Forward predictions say 90's through the month of July.

I've been daydreaming about rain and warm summer showers; how it would be so wonderful to invite friends for hedonistic romps in the rain. I don't have a place for this, but I imagine a green pasture. There would be rolling Indiana hills and uncut fescue gone to seed. The seed heads would reach to my waist and tickle my skin, the stalks separating my barefoot toes. Take note, I have never done this kind of thing when I lived on the farm and there were lots of pastures.

There is a barn in a meadow near a creek on that farm, with bales of hay stacked waiting for winter feeding. Do any of you remember the novels or movies where a woman and a man meet somewhere and get caught in the rain? They run for the barn and when safe in the dry they just have to take off their wet clothing for fear of a cold and lay it out to dry. This story is often repeated with an old farm house instead of the barn and a fireplace and blanket!

Of course this ends up with them having sex. They have never noticed each other until the day they get wet in the rain. They've lived just down the road from each other all their lives or she is the new girl in town but never saw that they really love each other until they got rained on! The rain is like a love potion.

In the city there is no place for nudity, let alone taking showers naked in warm summer rain! I've been thinking though that it would be possible to lure Lenny to the parking lot at work some evening after midnight when it's raining. One problem is the police park on that lot during their breaks. I wonder if they would arrest me.

Garden in grass and normal neighbors.

The people next door have put in a garden. The always green acre has been just grass for almost two decades. As far as I can tell there has never been a garden there.

One Saturday in March they off loaded a small tractor and disk. I've seen farm equipment of all kinds. I grew up on a farm in Indiana. This was like the full size disks but smaller. I hadn't seen a plow and since the area they were cultivating had been fully sodded with fescue, I have to believe the plow had done its work before I started watching the area.

A man was on the tractor and a woman stood to the side drinking from a plastic cup through a straw. I had no doubt he was doing her bidding in making the garden. I watched as she walked to the edge of their property at the edge of mine and dumped the contents of her cup on my side. I immediately thought of how good produce from their garden would be later in the summer.

This garden is on a commercial lot and my property is where my business operates. I'm there a lot though; much more than they are.

The mail man stopped by the other morning. He is a nice guy and always has a moment to chat when he sees me. Last week he had been on vacation and the mail man who delivered before he was the regular guy had been the mail man for about 10 years. He moved to another route last fall and said he was retiring soon and would fill in for vacations till then.

I told the regular guy about the vacation sub had been a former regular and that he'd asked about getting cake samples. I explained that I enter cakes in the Kentucky State Fair and make some for my church carnival for practice, as well as for the business next door and in previous year's the mail man. He smiled.

"You wouldn’t be willing take a practice cake, would you?" I asked.

"Well I don't need to eat cake but that would be great."

"You could take it home to share with your family, you know," I said.

"Sure, that's a good idea," He said.

"What do you think; pineapple upside down cake or red velvet?" I asked.

"Surprise me," He said with a grin.

-----

The announcement earlier this week that eleven people living and working in America are spies for Russia was greeted by chuckles for the most part. The statement by the President was not adversarial and Putin said he didn't think the people were Russian. Of course the FBI has been listening in on their phones, watching them move about, hacking their computers and putting bugs in anything they own for years. I have no doubt they are spies. I've always believed that the best spy would not be a James Bond type, but someone who blended in and didn't look or act like a spy novel character.

Another former CIA man said there were probably 50 such couples living quietly, doing the same kind of social networking to learn about and influence what we do, politically.

So now instead of seeing Islamic terrorists in every cab or bodega, we will be suspecting that nice couple at your kid's school, just because they "sound foreign" or act normal.

Daniel Boone National Forrest has a bad bear.

There is a bad bear lose in Kentucky. Evidently the latest bear census revealed that there are between 250 and 300 bears in the wilds of the state. From all information available all but one of these bears are good bears but one.

I was chomped on by a bear, and he was a bad bear, but that doesn't speak of all bears," Tim Scott 56, of Lexington said.

Sunday a family was hiking the trails near the Red River Gorge Geological Area with dad Tim Scott taking the lead. He saw a bear 25 feet ahead and watched as the bear ducked under a ledge. The bear emerged onto the path and began approaching Scott. He hollered, dropped his belt bag, grabbed a rotted branch and hit the bear, trying to move away. The bear sniffed the bag and followed. Finally the it lunged and nipped him, then let him go as he moved behind a tree for protection. The bear grabbed him and threw him into the woods. Then the it sank its teeth into his thigh and shook.

At some point during this, Mr. Scott snapped several pictures with his cell phone.

Another group of hikers approached and one hit the bear with his back pack. The bear left the area.

Mr. Scott was taken to a hospital and 50 stitches closed his wounds. He went home to recuperate.

Today is the fourth day that the area has been closed to humans. I'm not sure who is doing the hunting but a bear was sighted yesterday. Officials are not sure it's the same bear but they are confident the bad bear has not left the area.

Wildlife Division Director Karen Waldrop said the agency's policy is to kill any bear that behaves aggressively toward humans, and officials have closed the popular scenic area and set traps to try to capture the animal.

The bear is described as an Appalachian Black Bear. The Red River Gorge Geological Area is in the Daniel Boone National Forrest.

"It's bold. It's ambitious. It's striking," said Jerry Abramson, long time Mayor of Louisville and current hopeful Lt. Governor.

It is 61 story building soaring into the sky on a riverfront acre in Louisville. The building would contain 85 luxury condominiums, 150 lofts, a 300-room hotel, office space and a 1,100-car underground parking garage.

It was a $360 million project February 5, 2006 when announced and a radical skyscraper to be completed in 2010. At that time principals of The Museum Plaza building said the project would be paid for with private money and with income from the hotel, offices and the sale of condos and lofts. I recall the roll out. I was amazed and delighted that anyone would be so wealthy and believe in Louisville so much they could put that kind of money into a building like that.

Laura Lee Brown [yes the heiress to the Brown-Forman distillery conglomerate] and her husband Steve Wilson, are the dreamers. The couple is described as a "power" couple, which always makes me think their marriage and married life was negotiated on their wedding day, and renegotiated on the anniversary every year. They renovated an old building on Main Street into a boutique hotel 21C, that is evidently a destination for people visiting our city. They also tore down some porn shops and strip clubs next to the International Convention Center and built a Marriott Hotel downtown. They are supporters of every legacy charity in the city as well as the library.

Last week on Wednesday evening one local news channel had an interview with Mr. Craig Greenberg, one of Museum Plaza principal. He was telling us he had good news. Although the project had been stalled since 2008 when buildings surrounding the site were having their foundations crumble from anchoring the building and then work was not resumed because of "economic factors", that was going to change. His interview was to announce a press conference scheduled for the next morning.

The next morning our governor, mayor, Congressman and others I didn't recognize were standing on a dais at a microphone. They were discussing how fabulous it was that the project was again moving along. There was footage of the acre and all that was visible was junky land, orange barrels and broken concrete. Mr. Wilson spoke passionately about how hard his wife Laura Lee Brown had been working on this project; all the time, at all hours of the day and night, continually. "I'm proud of her for all her hard work."

Then the Governor spoke. The Commonwealth of Kentucky was applying for a $100 million loan from HUD. This loan would be used to secure further financing for the now $460 million building. The Brown-Wilson's would use $100 million of their own money as security to get the additional financing.

Thursday I was not delighted. I was disgusted. HUD is the Department of Housing and Urban Development whose mission is: 

…to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business.

Since The Museum Plaza is planned as a showplace for art, a home for the city's only Westin Hotel, luxury condominiums marketing to people leaving their half million dollar mini-mansions when the kids leave home, and lofts for 30-something metro sexuals, I cannot see the "affordable" aspect of this building. It is argued that over 1000 of this type of project has been HUD financed already in the country. This project though big, is only the third largest with LA and Houston having the largest.

It is Deja Vu all over again

I am sure all you are aware that today is our Father's Day. For you fathers, Happy Father's Day!

What people do that is special for their fathers is unique to every one however, a local follower of the blog pointed out this ad running in the local paper this week. The establishment mentioned has a small ad on the page of the paper containing the entries and previous day's winners of horse races at Churchill Downs. I understand that Déjà Vu is a chain of businesses so perhaps you have one locally. If you have the nerve, ask your dad to go with you! After all entry is free, though I suspect the usual buck tucking and drink buying is expected.

Leaping horses, apologies and crime.

Thursday morning this week, a two year old filly named BF Chang was standing in front of the grandstand at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY, with exercise rider Marelio Garcia on her back. They were waiting to begin a routine run around the dirt track. Suddenly she twisted and flipped over the grandstand rail, into box seats, crashing through chairs and winding up in the clubhouse near a guest parking lot. The horse, which sustained lacerations and numerous cuts, was taken by ambulance to an equine hospital. She is expected to recover without problem.

Oddly, about a half hour later another 2 year old filly, which had been waiting in a similar spot and fashion, flipped and unseated her rider. She then got up and ran into oncoming horse traffic on the backside.

There has been discussion of what caused the two horses to act this way on the same day and near the same time. No conclusions have been reported.

It's been an odd few days.

Rand Paul, the GOP candidate for the US Senate in Kentucky, sent a letter to the editor of the local paper. Paul says that although he said abhorrent things on live and recorded broadcasts, he was misunderstood. He further said that because these ideas of his were subsequently discussed by newspapers, news media and blogs, his reputation has been sullied!

Marc Murphy, June 18, 2010, Courier-Journal

A further development with Rand is that the professional certificate he has listed as being the recipient of has turned out to be similar to those online mail order divinity degrees; easily obtained and requiring no actual accreditation.

Thursday, before a Congressional hearing on the BP Gulf disaster got underway, Rep. Joe Barton from Texas apologized to the BP Corporation. His concern seemed to be that this Swiss Corporation, headquartered in England, was the victim of a shakedown for being asked to set up a $20 billion dollar fund in escrow. I'm not sure whether his concern was that they were being asked to pay for their disaster or that they were being asked to turn over the money where someone other than they was administering it.

Some time later Rep. Barton apologized for apologizing to the BP Corporation. He first said he was sorry for his statement's misconstruction. A third statement retracted his apology to BP.

Watching these guys dance around things they try to defend as righteous beliefs can sure be entertaining.

Then last week, there was the Southwest Airline cargo worker who saw three suspicious boxes at the Little Rock airport. The worker opened the boxes and found 45 human heads. The heads were addressed to a medical lab in Texas.

Shipping body parts by air is not unusual. This was an issue because the packing and labeling of the boxes was so badly done they aroused concern by the cargo worker. The local authorities and FAA were notified. The local coroner has seized the heads and is investigating. His concern is that the heads may have been illegally harvested.

I have not been able to find out the status of the naked six year old and his two nightly home escapes mentioned in a previous post.

This past week a three year old boy, living with his mother, was shot. The bullet entered his body and ricocheted in the room and entered him a second time.

Two hours later his mother called 911 and an ambulance picked the child up and took him to the hospital. He is fine and in custody of social services.

His mother and a man were with the child arguing when he was shot. It is not known who shot the gun. During the two hour delay between the incident and the emergency call the two of them cleaned up the crime scene. The man made over twenty calls on a neighbor's cellphone.

The mother is in custody under a $500,000 bond.

The man is in custody under a $100,000 bond. He is further sentenced to six months in jail for loudly cursing at the judge during his arraignment.

Naked; when you have nothing to wear.

A naked six year old walked into a bar last night. Bar patrons put a t-shirt on him and went looking for his family. Not locating them, they called the police who canvassed the neighborhood finding an open door to a home down the street. Inside three juveniles were found. No parent or adult was there. A half hour later he child's mother arrived. She had left her children in the car of the oldest one, a twelve year old. Social services investigated and the children were returned to their mother.

This evening the local news led with the story: "A six year old naked child walked into a bar."

Yes, the same child again walked into the same bar.

When I first heard that line I thought, "That's a good line for a joke."

Somehow I can't think of one now.

Sometimes reading the paper captivates me. This morning I read an article beginning on the front page of the NY Times. It was about a way that regular schmo's can be sharp dressers. No longer will he depend on a wife or girlfriend to tell him what goes with what and suggest how to coordinate his colors.

After signing up to Trunk Club's site, a personal fashion assistant interviews him by Skype. During the conversation he explains likes, his activities, business dress needs and produces his measurements. She evaluates what he looks like and discusses his needs in more detail. A short time later he takes delivery of a large box of slacks, shirts, shoes, jackets selected specially for him.

Anything that he doesn't want gets shipped back. He pays nothing extra for the shipping or the personal fashion assistant.

Our featured schmo in the article was the writer. In "The Man, the Mouse and the Wardrobe" Farhad Manjoo follows the process. There are other sites doing similar services. You wear only black socks? Get new socks every other month from a subscription to Blacksocks.com. You are constantly wearing out your undershorts, t-shirts and socks? Work with ManPacks.com. The subscription services for basic needs work like a book of the month club.

Until these sites became available men who had no discernable sense of style found themselves in the local department store or Men's Warehouse when needing a suit for that funeral or job interview. When he had no matching sock pairs or hole free underwear, they went to Target at midnight, stocking up on packs of Hanes. Because most guys buy clothes only when they can't find anything to wear, sharp dressing is something they seldom do.

Now a guy can shop using Skype and a short time later he has clothes that are his size and make him a well dressed man.

Mr. Manjoo also says gift certificates to these services are perfect for the recent graduate or birthday boy.

This sounds like a good idea of busy men. Most all of us use online shopping more than we ever thought we would.

I buy books, office supplies, some basic clothes, and all those must have Target sales items. The biggest draw for me is I keep myself on a strict budget. When I'm not cruising the isles of the big box store with a huge bascart, I don't buy things on impulse. The additional plus is free shipping!