Cricket? You Can Shove It.

Spring is the time of year that is the worst for riding the bus because of the weather. Not that the weather’s bad. Well, sometimes it is—April showers, although we had enough rain last month that I’m pretty sure March was taking a bath, but that’s another story. Actually I’d prefer a little rain, or at least some inclement weather. It’s the clement weather that bothers me. Take yesterday, for instance. And you can keep it, as far as I’m concerned. The morning was lovely: I got up before dawn because the dogs still haven’t figured out that Daylight Savings Time means we can sleep an extra hour. The sky was clear. Jupiter stood out brightly among the stars in the south. By the time I left the house Aurora had risen from her bed adnd I heard old Tithonus chirping in the grass. A few long strands of cloud stretched across a magenta sky. It was chilly, just chilly enough that I had to wear a jacket to work.

Of course I had to wear a jacket to work.

By the afternoon Apollo was low in the west, which is weird because I thought the Apollo missions ended in the ‘70’s, and it was nice and warm. Too warm for a jacket. If I were driving it would be easy. I could just throw the jacket in the back of the car and forget about it until the next morning when it would be too cold to go out without a jacket but I’d have to go out without a jacket because I’d left it in the damn car overnight.

Riding the bus, on the other hand, left me with a choice: carry the jacket like a schmuck or wear the jacket and be a sweaty schmuck. I suppose I could also leave the jacket at the office, but that wouldn’t do me any good the next morning.

So I walked to the bus stop holding my jacket, and as I passed a grassy patch I thought I heard chirping, and then thought it sounded more like laughter.

Shut up, Tithonus.

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6 Comments

  1. Allison

    I am also laughing because I have two jackets in my car, both left there because of that exact scenario.

    I also have an umbrella, which is pretty useless unless I’m already in the car when it starts raining…

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      That reminds me of the number of times I’ve gotten up in the morning and thought, “It’s cold enough that I should wear a jacket” and then I remember that I left my jacket in the car all night. So not only do I have to go out in the cold and retrieve it but my jacket is also cold.
      And I’ve just about given up on umbrellas unless I know it’s raining when I leave. I have a collection of about half a dozen in my office.

      Reply
  2. mydangblog

    That’s the trouble with the weather right now–I have no idea what to wear. The other day it was warmer outside than it was in the building where I’m working this week, and now it’s freezing inside and out!

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      That’s terrible when it’s warmer outside than it is inside. The office where I work had that problem all winter. The maintenance guy kept telling us the problem was that we’re in the floor right over the parking garage and there’s no insulation, and heat rises, so when he turned the heat up on our floor the floors above us turned into saunas.
      And then just yesterday he stopped by my cube and asked if the office was warm enough now. I thought about being a smartass and saying, “Ask me again in January.”

      Reply
  3. Ann Koplow

    During this time of the year, I’m often carrying some piece of clothing like a schmuck, but I never feel like one. And I’d rather hear laughter, Chris, than (crickets).

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      I always hope to hear laughter which is why I don’t mind looking like a schmuck, so really I’m happy to hear the crickets as long as they’re not critics.

      Reply

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