Summer Sunday Smiles

Today the Howard County Fair opened with the National Anthem and a Flag-Raising Ceremony, and I flew over the ceremony in the T-6 while they were raising the flag. A quick, quiet, respectful flyby. Hopefully the timing worked out properly; without someone on the ground with a radio you just have to go by the clock and hope it works. I could see the fair all set up and ready to go this week, so I'll be trying to find a good day to take Kaylee. I do wish she had a friend who I knew loved the spinny rides and never got sick who could go with us so that when I've met my limit she doesn't have to go alone or quit too. But going with me is better than not going at all (so far), so we'll give it a shot. :)

I took my motorcycle out for a ride tonight, for the first time in over a year. A friend had gone through it and fixed it up so it ran like a charm. It had been so long since I last rode, I went to a nearby parking lot first and did a little practice on some of the motorcycle course maneuvers I'd learned, but fortunately it didn't take long to come back, and I was off and running. I went out to some of the curvy country roads, went past Glenndale and waved at Dale, went out to Kokomo Airport, wandered around the back roads quite a bit before my clutch hand started getting tired and I decided to head in. The ride reminded me that it may have been awhile since I last rode, but some things don't change: Every car on the road is still out to get you. I am apparently one of the only people in the state of Indiana who wears a helmet (it's not a state law here). Riding on a beautiful late afternoon with the sun heading down and the wind in your face is relaxing. Sixty-five mph feels terribly slow in an airplane, feels normal in a car, and feels almost speedy on a motorcycle. Smiling invites bugs in your teeth. Seriously. For once I had a perfectly sane, perfectly normal ride, where nothing went wrong on the bike--it was great!

Steve worked hard today around the place, scrubbing and steam cleaning our carpet, fixing my laptop, working in the garage, doing those things that sometimes get left behind when you get busy. The carpet is looking good, and hopefully it will feel fresher in here again.

This evening we had a little fire in our back yard, and Kaylee would get up and chase fireflies around the yard. They were out in force tonight, lighting up all over the place, and at one point she pointed down by her feet and said "Man, there's a whole herd of them here!" (The vision of a "herd" of fireflies still makes me smile.)

A barefoot kid chasing fireflies at sunset, family hanging out around a fire, leftover blackberry pie, a little flying, a little riding; have I ever mentioned that Summer is awesome? ;)