* * *

It really is amazing what a difference a year can make. Last year I was happy to have a week off, although I was apprehensive about returning to work. This year more closely resembles those childhood summers that seemed to go on forever.

I was never one of those kids who were so bored by the end of summer that they were anxious to get back to school. I didn't like school and was never impatient to get there; finding things to occupy my time was not a problem for me -- even if my parents and siblings might disagree -- and I was never bored enough to *want* to go to school. Even so, those summers of yore seemed eternal, right up to the inevitable day when another school year begins.

It's only through that reasoning that I can keep myself from getting too antsy while waiting for the school year to begin again. Because I know that it will, just as those summers past ended, this one too will end. I'm trying to just relax and enjoy this time, but I've got this nagging question of what I'm going to do career-wise. With most of the people who are supposed to help me with my career development on vacation this month, I can't seem to get anything done in that regard; so, I'm trying not to let myself worry about it too much, for now. I suppose that that time will come soon enough on its own.

And while I don't have the energy I did during those early summers, I'm still managing to find things to occupy my time; it's easier now in as much as it doesn't take as much to fill a day. I'm glad that the weather cooled off here, to a very comfortable 70's and 80's, I've been really missing that pool we had in our back yard back in Cudahy and the lake we had in our back yard in Phelps.

On Monday, Julie and I went to the Eau Claire Dells, 15 or 20 miles east of here, with Butch. We used to go up there to cool off in the river and drink beer. As he lugged the cooler down the rocky path toward the river, Butch ruminated it was 8 or 9 years since we'd done that. It was to get up to 96 that day and we were looking forward to sitting out in the rocky riverbed in a natural whirlpool as we did in the past. When we got there, however, we were disappointed to find that the low water level this year made conditions unfavorable for swimming, but we had plenty of beer and the sky clouded over before we got too hot.

If it gets too hot, I can always head down to the basement where I have a rehearsal studio set up. I'm trying to get a band going. With me playing bass, Shannon on keyboards and vocals, and Billy on guitar so far, we've been jamming and trying to decide on some songs we want to do. We've got a long way to go and we desperately need a drummer, but I'll let you know if a band actually forms.

Plus, I'm still walking "The Green Mile" with Stephen King -- almost done with part two, only four more to go. While reading braille is still agonizingly slow, it's nice to be able to sit out on the front porch and read a book. It gets me away from the computer and from a writer's standpoint, I get much more out of the read than from reading electronically or from listening to recorded materials. Now I only hope that part three arrives before I finish part two.

So, I've got enough to do to fill my time, for now, and I'm simply enjoying this . . . while it lasts.