Oklahoma Spring

Yes, I decided to tempt fate and declare that spring has arrived in Lawton, Oklahoma. The temperature hovers just below 80º and the sun beats down relentlessly. It has been like that for a week now and my gray, dank, British soul has begun to hope that winter has left us to amuse itself up north. Kathy says things like, "Oh, I've known ice storms in April" and "It's going to get colder tomorrow." But when I ask how cold, she says, "In the fifties, I think they said." In Michigan and Massachusetts they'd be very glad of 50º right now, methinks. That's not winter; it's a British summer!

Lawton is strangely beautiful at the moment. As well as the sunshine and a breeze that ensures it doesn't become too hot, the trees are putting forth their new foliage and flowers, the grass begins to turn from its African dried-out brown to threaten a verdant green, the birds sing and the air is sharp and clear. It reminds me of those rare days in England when the sun shines all day and one can believe that it is the most beautiful country on earth. On days like these, the land of my birth is truly an emerald jewel on the edge of Europe.

And Lawton has had a week of them.

Oh, I know full well that this is a foretaste of the scorching heat to come. Twenty-seven years in Africa taught me to be only too aware of the power of the sun. Come the summer I will be so grateful that I live in a country that believes passionately in air conditioning. I will look out from my little, white, artificially-cooled house on the baking flatness that is Lawton, with the heat haze blurring the middle distance and the sun blazing from a cloudless sky.

But for the moment I enjoy spring in Oklahoma. I can slide the windows fully open and type in a fresh breeze that runs through the house. Perhaps I should feel guilty, knowing that up North folks still endure the snows and storms of winter. But I don't. Twenty-nine years of damp and gloomy British winters have entitled me to this, I think.

--ooOoo--

Tomorrow (Sunday, March 12) Kathy and I are going on a trip to the Deep South; Vicksburg, Mississippi, to be precise. This should give me more material for the long-neglected Journal and I will be able to add two states (Mississippi and Louisiana) to my growing list. We return on Friday, March 17th.

So don't expect any new posts on this blog for a week. I know this is a terrible imposition to thrust upon you at such short notice but you may have noticed a sudden slowing down over the last few days. This has been caused by general exhaustion of creativity (well, that's my excuse anyway) and a certain paucity of new ideas. A break might be what all of us need. Besides, quite a few of you have a book to read in the meantime, I believe. Mad will field any comments in my absence so feel free to comment if you wish.

Until we meet again!