Smoke in the heat

Today is a smoky 104º F day here in Billings, Montana.  The sun has that yellow tint to it that hurts your eyes, and the smoke burns your eyes and nostrils.  A thick coating of something that shouldn’t be there coats the insides of your lungs, making you think you need to cough to get rid of it, but no cough will come…  The wildfires in the West are blazing out of control and, for various reasons (some stated and some not), the fires are not contained.  Every August about this time, this is the scenario.  Just being outside is unhealthy.  We have to be inside with filtered, cooled air in order to breathe…

I feel immense fatigue today.  That’s what the smoke and heat does to me.  I drink lots of water to stay hydrated, but despite that, I feel drained.  I’m not tired, but instead fatigued.  My body fights to reject the toxins it’s presented with, but to little avail and it succumbs to the inevitable effects of the unhealthy elements.  I want to climb today, but that would mean I would have to go outside, put up with a crowded gym full of inconsiderate, screaming little kids, and get very little done with the circumstances I’d be presented with.  Climbing outside is a bad idea today, to say the least.  Climbing outside today is rather impossible.

Instead, I’m going to learn some riffs on my new Fender electric guitar.  I’m learning to pick the strings with a plectrum instead of my fingers, which is much, much different!  I’m also fooling around with the effects that my Mustang I amp has to offer, some of which are rather cool!  And that’s what I’m trying to do today – stay cool.  I hope you’re trying to do the same.

I might go climbing this evening, when the birthday parties at the climbing gym die down and the people who really want to climb are there.  Who knows?  I might even run into some of my climbing buddies and get a good roped session out of it!!!  I’ll wait until later, though.