Predictable Unpredictable Weather

Window condensation 08-22-2023

One thing about Missouri’s weather is it predictably unpredictable.

In the last month or so, we’ve gone from weeks of drought, torrential rains that flooded communities like Marble Hill (rain was falling at the rate of better than four inches an hour at my house, and about a week of the heat index above three digits, not counting the decimal point.

The Night of the Big Rain didn’t bring promised (dreaded) winds and hail, but the lightning was almost continuous.

That brought to mind Mark Twain’s comment, “Thunder is good, thunder is impressive, but it is lightning that does the work.”

Not only hot, it’s humid

You can see from the condensation on my basement window when I started up the stairs to go to bed that there’s a lot of moisture in the air

When the heat index was 106 (116 if you believe the local TV station), I elected to replace a dusk to dawn porch light that had decided to stay on all the time.

The whole process took about an hour, at which point you could ring sweat out of my cap, shirt, suspenders and underwear. I had other projects on my list, but I may put them on hold until the one week in November before temps drop below zero,

 

 

A Windy Day in South Florida

720 DragonflyIt sure looked dark this afternoon. A friend 60 miles west of us at the north end of Lake Okeechobee said it was raining so hard out there she could hardly see across the creek. It didn’t take long before our trees started whipping around.

But, that’s not really the reason you’re seeing this. My computer is tied up outputting 1,111 photos for a project in Athens, Ohio. Not only is it resizing them and working magic once, I have to do it four times for different size prints and for a slide show.

(No, I’m not showing all thousand slides in one show. Relax.)

Video of wind and rain

While all those digital gyrations are going on, I can’t edit any still photos. That’s why you get this short video of the wind picking up, then moving on.

This rain video I did back in Cape is a little more dramatic.

Cold Showers and Sunsets

Ohio sunset 07-29-2013

If travel wasn’t interesting, it wouldn’t be fun. Keep in mind, though, that the phrase “May you have an interesting life” is both a blessing and a curse.

I mentioned yesterday that I had a blast in Athens, but all good times have to come to an end. I waved goodbye to Curator Jessica at the Athens Museum around 7 p.m., which put me right on my planned departure time of 4 p.m., as calculated in Steinhoff Standard Time.

Heading west into the setting sun can be a bit challenging at times, but it finally gave up someplace about 80 miles from my starting point. When it decided to go to sleep, it went quickly.

No No-Smoking, no sale

I had hoped to get as far as Cincinnati, so I started looking for lodging in the Florence, Ky., area, west of there. The first place I checked had only one room available and it was a smoker. No sale.

The second wanted $101. The third was even more proud of its rooms: that chain wanted $139. I didn’t have Friend Anne along this trip, so I couldn’t even pull the old “we’re newlyweds who have had a spat and need separate rooms at a discount to save our marriage” argument.

Just as I was resigned to heading west another hour or so to get to the cheap seats, I spotted a [Name withheld] Motel. It had an older look and the parking lot was filled with at least two dozen 18-wheelers, most of them car haulers. The lobby was a bit smoky. One of the guys behind the front desk sported a fair array of jailhouse tattoos. I hope that’s what they were, because if they weren’t, he overpaid the “artist.”

“How much for a non-smoking room for one person for one night?”

“$53.96.”

Is it clean?

I can overlook a lot for the difference between $139 and $53.96. “Is it clean?”

“Yep.” (I wasn’t exactly sure his standards and mine were anywhere close, but I handed over my plastic and was awarded Room 251.)

It wasn’t bad. It had extension cords running all over the place to provide enough outlets for modern travelers, but I’d rather have that than no power. The Wi-Fi was fast enough and didn’t require a password. The AC sounded like a jet taking off every time the compressor kicked in, but it did put out cool air. The bed was great.

I set the alarm for 9:45 and slept like a log. I got up, checked my mail and figured I had just enough time to jump in the shower, pack up and be out by the 11 a.m. checkout deadline.

Tub had funky uni-knob

I turned the water on in the tub. It had one of those uni-knobs where you don’t know what the setting is, so I turned it full left and got cold water. I turned it full right and got cold water. I turned on both taps in the sink and got cold water. I was beginning to detect a pattern. I called the front desk. “Does this place not have hot water or does it just take a long time to get to 251?” I asked in what I hoped was a pleasant tone.

“It’s broken,” a harried female voice said, “We have someone on the way to fix it.”

When I got to the lobby, all the trucks had pulled out and there was a zoom of motorcycle riders getting ready to leave. The woman I supposed attached to the earlier harried voice was talking with some guests who were checking out. (She must have gone to the same tattoo artist as the night guy, by the way.) I overheard her saying to a coworker, “I’m not going to have anything in my drawer by the end of the morning.”

“I guess I’m not going to make your day any better,” I said. “The last time I stayed in a hotel without hot water was in 1958. What can we do to make it right?”

“I can knock $20 off,” she said.

“Look, I’m not looking for a free room. I slept very well last night. On the other hand, I’m going to have to smell myself for another six hours. How about we split the cost of the room?”

She agreed, so I got a good night’s sleep for $28.96 instead of $139 at a fancy joint. I don’t think I’ll be going back again, though.

Rain slowed me down

Rest stop somewhere in IL 07-30-2013

When I called Mother to tell her I was rolling west this morning, she warned me that I was going to run into a bunch of rain. I paused to put on a fresh coat of Rain-X on the windshield.

Traffic was light and running smoothly for the most part. My Waffle House breakfast had scarcely settled before the first splatters of rain showed up. The splatters put their hands together and turned into heavy rain. Fortunately, that didn’t last too long. The next three or four hours were just light, steady rain.

Rain at the rest stop snagged me

It wasn’t the rainfall while driving that slowed me down. It was the rainfall when I stopped to take a short nap at an Illinois rest area. I’ve written about how I usually set my alarm for 22 minutes, then wake up refreshed enough to log another three or four hours.

This afternoon I decided I wasn’t THAT sleepy, so I set it for 17 minutes and dozed off to the sound of the rain pounding softly on the roof above me. When the alarm went off, I liked the sound well enough to tack on another 12 minutes.

Twice.

If I hadn’t needed to get moving, I think I could have dozed to that for hours.

So, I’m back in Cape for a few days. I’m afraid to turn on the hot water tap.

What IS That Symbol?

A rainy day at CHS c 1965One of the most frequently-asked questions is “What is that symbol on the side of Central High’s wall over the auditorium entrance?” Nobody has come up with an answer.

Here’s a look at it on a rainy day, probably in 1965. I think Mrs. Muegge is the woman in the dark dress on the left. The two women in the doorway on the right may have worked in the library. You can click on the photos to make them larger.

1965 Girardot Photo

Central High School at Night for GirardotHere’s a view of it at night that appeared in the back of the 1965 Girardot. I shot it using the school’s Crown Graphic 4×5 camera.

2009 recreation

Central High School at night 10-14-2009 by Ken Steinhoff

I went back to recreate the photo in 2009. Here’s how the photos were taken then and now.