More of the same

Three bronze children try to pull an ancient Chinese coin down the sidewalk. Not sure why. Cute though. Not surprisingly, the only people out on the sidewalks this summer are fake ones.

I asked my local friends if they wanted to come over last weekend. They said it was too hot to get out. So it is not just me. This summer has been the hottest one I've ever lived through, and the hottest one on record for this area. It is has put a temporary hold on almost all social activities and outings.

When I lived in West Texas, the temperature would sometimes get up to 114°F. That was the actual temperature on the thermometer. And I remember days of miserableness.* But I think it lasted a week or so, not all summer.

Here, this summer, the thermometer temperature has gotten up to 104°F, but when the humidity is factored in, it is almost always around 116°F. And it stayed that way for two months. I have spent inordinate amounts of time indoors this summer. I don't have a car, so I can only go out on e-bike or foot, and it is blazing hot and dangerous. Even grocery-buying has been put on hold. I went out on my e-bike yesterday and turned around and came right back home.

Technically the heat wave is over. Tomorrow will be the coolest day all summer at 95°F (heat index 101°).

Maybe sometime soon I will stop talking about the weather. But I guess my point is, I have nothing else to talk about. Because I haven't been anywhere, done anything, seen anyone. And my blog posts of late reflect that. :-)

I have another short trip coming up in a few days; maybe that will be fun. Please pray for safe travels.

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*I love to make up new words, don't you?

Skeered

While waiting at a red light, I saw these two guys repairing a billboard (see top of photo). They were sitting on a pipe that held up the lights. They wore no safety harnesses. The ladder was a long way from where they were seated in this photo. There were no safety rails to hang on to as they made their way back to the ladder. If they leaned back or lost their balance, they would fall onto the pavement, possibly onto e-bike riders. I made sure to dodge them as I drove underneath the overpass where they worked.

Safety standards here are ridiculously lacking. I often see window washers hanging off of high-rise buildings held by only a rope around their waists. Air-conditioner repairmen hang on to the sides of high-rise apartment buildings to put the a/c units in place.

If I see something bad, not only will it be a tragedy for those involved, but it will be traumatically etched into my brain forever. I can't change their way of doing things, so I close the curtains or turn the other way.

OSHA may have a mind-numbing array of safety regulations, and sometimes we may complain, but if you could see what I see on a daily basis, you'd certainly appreciate this one bit of government bureaucracy that looks out for your well-being.

To be sure, the employees assigned these dangerous tasks are scared. But their employers demand they do the work and don't provide any safety measures to them. The employees have to feed their families, and jobs are scarce. May the Lord have mercy on them.