But it's June 30th!

Why the heck am I wearing a sweater at the end of June? It is 66 degrees outside. The sky is gray with no sign of any rays of sunlight. There are rumors of rain later. And the air conditioning is on in the office.

I think I've mentioned that my boss detests hot weather. He is happiest when the weather is like it is today, in the mid to upper 60's with the nights in the 50's. I just got over my allergies and that annoying cold. I have to sit on my hands occasionally to warm them up. YES! I'm all out of hot tea but I have water in the microwave for more.

So, inevitably, the conversation will turn to "where's this global warming we've heard about"? It is tempting when your lips are turning blue at the end of June, when the HIGH temperature is "supposed" to be in the mid-80's, to question whether the scientists garnering headlines for predicting the melting of the ice caps really are right. Am I going to need the heat tonight just to remove the damp chill from the air? I can't ever remember having the heat on at the end of June. When Carole graduated from high school at the beginning of June in 2001, it was like this. Her college graduation in mid-June 2005 was hot and humid. It is supposed to be gorgeous over the 4th, but 66 on June 30th? When was Hudson Bay, Canada moved south?

If you're of a "certain" age, you grew up with the headlines from the National Enquirer screaming "New Evidence Shows Russian Weather Machine". The Cold War was still in effect and any weather anomaly was quickly attributed to this mystifying machine that the Russian had supposedly built and were aiming at the heavens. What we take for granted now, such as Dopplar Radar, hadn't been invented yet so my grandfather was dead serious when he said, as we sat in the shed watching baseball size hail fall one July afternoon, "Them damn Russians are at it again."

Yes, I believe in global warming as I hold my numb fingers over the steam from the tea. I believe we have changed and continue to change the climate. It doesn't mean that suddenly all my summers in Chicago will be above 88 degrees. It means that there will be cold days when, historically, there shouldn't be. All I can say is thank goodness for flannel sheets.

Beverage: HOT Prince of Wales tea

Deb