"There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people." - Muhammad Ali

oops

Haboob blowing through the valley as I type this. Hoping the thunder clouds get this far west but it's not uncommon for them to lose their moisture by the time they get this far. 

I got a lot done today. But it is so stinkin' hot, and the humidity is up because of monsoon moisture, that working on the cars in the garage was more than I could talk myself into. I did give the inside of the Kia a thorough post-vacation cleaning. 

Wo! The wind just started howling, like someone flipped a switch. And the air is suddenly filled with brown dust. Which means the house if filling with that same very fine desert dust. That's because I gave our bedroom a thorough cleaning this afternoon - vacuuming, dusting, wiping down baseboards... Oh well.

I wish getting back in shape after a three-week break didn't involve this much pain. 

Life isn't fair.

The people who impress me are the ones who get a very raw deal and handle it with dignity and surpassing righteousness. Heroes. 

Pam's mom is at a rehab unit and may be there for up to three months as she recovers from a broken tailbone.

My dad has some kind of respiratory bug and sounds pretty sick. 

Being this far away is frustrating for both of us. 

We'll have a lot of people gone tomorrow. School here starts the first week in August so opportunities to get away and out of the summer desert heat are running out. We've got families visiting family in the midwest, Oregon, and the east coast. But the prize goes to Shirley and Liz (mom and daughter) who are in Bangalor, India, Shirley's home country. Liz is super-smart and in an honors med program at ASU. She's there doing research for her senior project, a very simple book in Hindi that will explain to rural villagers about mental illness. The problem is that sufferers are viewed with suspicion, often labeled as evil and demon possessed. Villagers don't understand the concept of mental illness and so ostracize them, or worse. Liz will be meeting with mental health professionals in Bangalor to discuss the project and how to maximize the effectiveness of the final product. Liz sent me an email with some pics that I'll share with them at the beginning of the service. Pretty cool.