Thank heavens the heatwave is finally over! With temperatures soaring into the 80's and beyond, no one wanted to stay in the city. To try and entice customers, this Northampton restaurant advertises not their food, or their service but their air conditioning!
Jeff Ziff sent along this photograph of a Spongebob Popsicle he came upon that was melting on the shimmering surface of a Springfield parking lot.
Fortunately, I was able to leave the hot confines of civilization and zoom away on my cousin's boat on the Congamond Lakes. In his backyard he has a trampoline. I was quite the trampoliner in my day, however you might think that now I am too mature and dignified for such things. But you would think wrong.
In Southwick we stopped for grinders at this place that had this psychedelic beast in front with a sign identifying it as - what else? - A Horse of a Different Color.
It was great when we finally got the boat out on the water. I like this ingenious relaxation device that someone who lives on the Congamond made out of a hammock and a float.
Existence on the water is free and easy.
Later we ate at this restaurant by the water that had really good hamburgers.
While we were eating, my cousin told me a strange story. He said he went to shore to take a leak one day recently when this young girl came up to him. She asked if my cousin would buy her a bottle of tequila. He asked her how old she was and she replied that she was only fifteen.
"You're too young!" he told her but then she tried to bribe him by saying, "If you bring me a bottle I'll take my clothes off!" My cousin just said, "Some other time." then got in his boat and drove off.
Later that incident bothered him. Besides the obvious matter of how pathetic it was that this fifteen year old was stripping for booze, my cousin told me that he wasn't particularly proud of the way he had handled the situation. Saying, "some other time" is not exactly a morally forceful refusal.
I pointed out however that how did he know the whole thing wasn't a sting like on TV, where they use 19 year olds that look fifteen to proposition guys and when they say yes, they clamp on the cuffs? Soon he was convinced that it had indeed been a cop, and he thanked me for rationalizing away his guilt.
"No problem," I said. "It's one of my specialties."
Soon the sun was going down and we had to leave.
In all the day was a blast and I hope to return to Congamond soon!
