Heat.

It's cooled off a little today. Of course, 'cool' is a relative thing. In this part of the world, temperatures that would have Vancouverites fainting and wilting and buying out all the fans at London Drugs are considered pleasant spring days. Today's high is going to be 83 F, and it feels lovely outside. One's internal thermostat adjusts to the climate, and anything below 80 degrees feels just a tiny bit nippy. Earlier in the week, it was in the high nineties, with plenty humidity. I've gotten so I actually like this. The air feels like velvet against your skin. Darlene and I went to a mayoral debate at the St. Francis of Assissi school up the street, and when we came out we were both gobsmacked by the beauty of the place we are in. I honestly don't think I've ever seen a city as lovely as New Orleans. Every neighborhood is an intricate masterpiece of detail, little shotgun houses with gingerbread detailing, old Spanish-style pads with ironwork draped balconies, weird little corner stores and postage-stamp-sized bars and restaurants. You get inured to it after a while and go about your life without noticing these things, then every once in a while there's moments like these when it all comes rushing back. And of course, when I'm in other cities, it startles me how flat and uninteresting they seem by comparison. There's another thing I like about New Orleans. As a player of reed instruments, I've spent a lot of time keeping reeds moist and playable. Usually that involves some kind of 'reed humidor,' like a Tupperware container with a little piece of moistened sponge or orange peel in it, to assure reed-friendly humidity. Here I just keep them on the dashboard of my car.