It's raining

I love the garden in the rain. It's not stormy enough to affect the fireworks show, so far, and I have my lawn chair ready. I asked mom and aunt Ruth if they were going to come watch it, but, they both said they're too old to walk out to my garden. Please. Pffft. I survived check day, I had to wait for hours for them, but, it wasn't hot, so I didn't bitch. I had Sweet Thursday in the car. Have you read that? It's the sequel to Cannery Row by Steinbeck. I'd thought I had read evey one of his book at least 12 times, so finding Sweet Thursday shoved in the boxes of romances that came into the shop was like finding gold. I'm reading it nice and slow and tasting all the words. I love Steinbeck, you don't have to figure out if you're a feminist, an existentialist, a socialist, a pragmatist or any other freekin' ist. Reading Steinbeck is like going home and being 12 years old again without any pain. He makes me remember the things I loved about the people I hated.

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So, no real irritations today and my aunt Ruth was surprisingly lucid. We talked in the car while waiting for mom and sometimes she snaps out of her senility and becomes the sharp woman she used to be. She never was like the rest of her sisters. I admit I still get ticked at their insistence on buying lettuce because they have those stupid government coupons. If it was Iceberg, I'd get it, because I can't grow that here, but, it's not. Look at my lettuce. I dare you to find anything wrong with that and I have tons of it. But, I let it go. I have lots of corn, boy, and tomatos. Nice bell peppers. I love the bells, they're so sweet. I know the family is enjoying the garden, they're just weird. I bring them sacks of stuff from it nearly every night and they get all excited. I wonder what it's like to live in a place where you can garden all year? It might be cool, but, then again, gardens and gardeners need a break.

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So, anyway, there's my lawn chair and the fireworks should explode right over the trees and my corn there. That's the stock yards and the fair ground back there. I can hear the cows bellowing about all the excitement. I'll try and get some pictures. I bought a bunch of sparklers, snakes and snaps for Lissy. And I'm sure the older kids are armed with bottle rockets and fire crackers. And mom bought me a present.I know..I thought, oh, wtf now? Gawd damn. Then I opened the bag and it was a can of Deep Woods Off. That made me laugh. Stuff is pricey too, so I liked it. See?, she sucks me in by doing something thoughtful and funny once in a blue moon. But, it's a nice Summer weekend, just starting and why look a gift horse in the mouth, eh? Maybe, just maybe, it will be a peaceful weekend. Spell check isn't working, for those of you who have the need to correct things. Go ahead, knock yourself out. I won't mind. But, I won't remember it either.