August Is for Lizards

We’ve had it pretty easy up until now. We all knew that the heat would suddenly descend on us along the Southern California coast, just as it has for weeks in the East, South, and Midwest.

Even now, it is nowhere near as hot and sticky here as it is inland or in the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. (And we won’t even mention the Coachella Valley.)

Living as we do in an apartment building without any insulation, let alone air conditioning, it can get hot after a few days of heat radiating toward our walls and roof—and it can stay hot. Martine and I have fans going all over the place. It helps, particularly after the sun goes down; but dropping off to sleep is not easy.

I was going to cook a minted rice casserole for supper. As dinner time approached, however, I gave up on the idea. What? Turn on the oven on a day like this? No way José!

Instead I had some blue cheese with Ritz crackers, a glass of unsweetened ice tea, and a white peach.

Based on past experience, I knew the heat wave would last for days, perhaps even weeks, longer than the weather forecasters said it would. Time to live like a lizard!

Top 10

Daily writing prompt
What are your top ten favorite movies?

In no particular order:

  1. John Ford: The Searchers
  2. Buster Keaton: The General
  3. Howard Hawks: The Big Sleep
  4. Alfred Hitchcock: Vertigo
  5. Carl Theodor Dreyer: Day of Wrath
  6. Jean-Luc Godard: Alphaville
  7. Jean-Pierre Melville: Touchez Pas au Grisbi
  8. Yasujiro Ozu: Late Spring
  9. Kenji Mizoguchi: Sansho the Bailiff
  10. Federico Fellini: La Strada

El Segundo Car Show

Purple 1950 Mercury

Martine and I used to frequent the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo, but were dismayed to find that it had closed its doors earlier this year. Luckily, the City of El Segundo puts on its own car show once a year and closes down its main commercial streets to make room.

Flyer for El Segundo Car Show

Unlike me, Martine is an aficionado of classical American cars, particularly of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. She had a number of conversations with the car owners, two of whom came up to me afterwards and spoke highly of her grasp of the subject. In all, we spent three and a half hours looking at hundreds of cars, most of which were models about which my little girl knew her stuff.

Martine Admiring Soapbox Derby Racer

At the show, we learned of several other upcoming car shows, including one at the Police Academy in Elysian Park sponsored by the LAPD. It looks like we’ll be going to that one, too.