"Hot town summer in the city . . .

 . . . .back of my neck gettin' dirty and gritty"

That classic #1 hit (16 August 1966 Billboard Top 100) by the Lovin' Spoonful is playing on iTunes.  Talk about an understatement.  The current temperature in Sydney is 41 degrees Celsius.  That translates into 105.8.  However,  the built in temperature reporting on the computer  (in Fahrenheit) gives the present temp in Sydney as 108!  This is the most searing heat I've ever experienced.  The forecast calls for rain and a drop of about 20 degrees (Fahrenheit) overnight.  To think that one year ago, on Sunday 7 February 2010 I took the photo of the patio in front of the Jesuit residence below during what came to be known as Snowpocalypse or Snowmaggedon in D.C.  The first of the two storms to paralyze the city. 

The sun here is intense.  There is apparently very little ozone which may explain why the colors on the beach seem so intense.   


While we were at Gerroa last week we watched at least part of the Australian Open most nights.  Each night we saw the same commercial at least twice.  It began with a group of teen-age boys doing summer things:  swimming, jumping off a dock, surfing and sunbathing,  all in baggies and no shirts.  Flash to one of the boys now in his twenties reminiscing about one of his buddies as the malignant melanoma on the buddy's neck and the MRI of the brain metastases that killed him appear on the screen.  It closes with the 26 year-old's photo, date of birth and date of death.   A powerful and important advertisement.  


We were in Gerroa for two weekends as well as Australia Day, a holiday.  The beach was crowded by 9 AM but almost deserted by noon.  It filled again much later in the day.   With good reason.  So, I am staying in again today, doing some editing, reading and lounging around in a pair of very old gym shorts and Penn State t-shirt.


Two more photos of the charming little critters one finds here.  The gull was on the beach early Monday morning.  The lizard was on the steps leading to the beach just before sunset the night before.  

Gotta get back to some editing and drinking vast amounts of water.  No A/C in the house except for the dining room in the retired father's part of the house, which is where we take our meals.  We also moved our morning conference there as the tertian's conference room was unendurable.


+Fr. Jack