Thank God for Cloud Cover (from Mike)

Thank God for cloud cover. It was only 100 degrees today, and now that I’m on foot that makes a huge difference! I had to turn my wheels in, and my new one is in the shop getting worked on. No big deal, the walking has been good for me. It’s 32 minutes from my front door to my office. And since I do the walk early in the a.m. and later in the evening I don’t feel the full brunt of the 120 degree midday heat. Plus I usually stop for chow on the way home, so I get a break halfway. Speaking of chow, last night I ate noodles and braised beef, just like on the ship. Weird. I’ve been eating a lot of cheeseburgers and sandwhiches because the quality of food on the “main line” isn’t the best. They do make a good macaroni salad. And they have ice cream every night. 8 flavors to choose from! Friday is steak and lobster night, which is decent, but your wallet with enough A-1 will taste decent, ya know?

Other than the break in weather not much else is new. Colleen sent two books and I’ve started the first called The Warlord’s Son. So far it’s been pretty good and it’s been easy to read. Nothing complex for me right now – my brain won’t handle it. I think I’ve read four books since leaving in June: Paris (a biography of the city), In Cold Blood, The Crocodile and In the Belly of the Green Bird. Thanks to Colleen for helping me to remember the names of the last two! I recommend all of them, but Green Bird is a pretty unique book in the sense that it’s by an American reporter with a Jewish last name who was imbedded with the Iraqi insurgents. Good stuff! Enjoy!