It is very hot today. It was very hot yesterday. It is supposed to be very hot tomorrow. July, summer. No big surprises. Just do me a favor, don’t talk about it. In fact, weather is on my list of things that are not worth talking about.
My maternal grandparents used to live in an apartment building that was not officially for elderly people, but let’s just say that the entranceway had a faint smell of mothballs and kasha. I have just a few memories of my grandfather, who passed a month and a half before my 8th birthday. Anyway, when I would visit, he would take me down to the lobby area while my grandmother was busy cooking all my favorites and doing other grandmotherly things. We would sit in the lobby waiting for one of my grandfather’s buddies to come by. Eventually, one of his pals would come by and sit on the ledge next to us. Inevitably, the first thing the elderly gentleman would say is, “oh I see your grandson is back. He’s getting so tall.” My grandfather would look over at me and smile. The observation would be repeated in my direction. I didn’t know how to respond, so at most I would say, “yup.” With that part of the conversation dispensed and a reminder of my name, they would go on to something else (unfortunately, I can’t remember even one topic). Of course I’ve grown. I’m supposed to grow – I’m seven. I wanted to be big, but I still had no response or wasn’t even sure they wanted one. I was just there. Anyway, I decided that if I ever said something like “you’ve grown so much,” that it would make seem like an old man. I’ve had to fight the urge on a number of occasions especially when I’ve seen my nephews after a long break. This is a topic that I don’t bother mentioning.
So, it has been very hot. Yes, I check the weather – weather on the ones, near the end of the newscast, weather.com. I am well aware of the predictions, but I don’t bother talking about it. What’s the point? Yeah, if you have nothing to say or are just trying to be polite, a “hey how about that weather” might get something going. Nothing all that interesting though. So, it’s going to be hot tomorrow. What else you got?