How long has it been? Six months? Eight months? Whatever it is, I think the long stretch of summer heat has finally broken here in the Valley of the Sun. Last night and tonight, one could actually smell wood burning from chimineas and fireplaces around the neighborhood, and the absence of heat was a welcome thing, I can tell you that. A couple-two-three brief notes of interest before I go take one of my last, if not THE last, dips in the pool and call it a season:

* You knew following the New York Yankees’ loss to the Detroit Tigers that owner George Steinbrenner was not going to be happy. But firing the manager just because your $200 million stable of players sucks the tailpipe once more in a division series? A typical reaction, to be sure, but ill-conceived, if you ask me. I can’t remember Joe Torre grabbing a bat or fielding a ball in the series just past.

* The Episcopal Diocese of Massacusetts wants to get out of the marriage business. Riiiiiight… While on one level I agree with their sentiments – I’ve long believed churches ought to get out of being an organ of the state when it comes to issuing marriage licenses, the better to preserve the sanctity of Holy Matrimony as a sacrament of the church – but I’m suspicious, to say the least, of their intentions. Keep in mind the Diocese of MA is one of the most, if not THE most, liberal diocese in the Episcopal Church, and my guess is they’re using this argument as a way to enable them to consecrate all kinds of relationships – hereosexual and homosexual alike – brought before them. Never underestimate the creative capabilities of the social progressives of the Episcopal Church to devise ways to get around the canons when it suits their liberal agendas and ideals…

* Think firefighting is easy? My bro, who is a county commissioner in Forsyth County, GA checked out the what it takes to put on the hat and boots and is impressed, to say the least.

Well, I’m off – the wind has died down, the twins (my wife and her sister, who came to take care of the rabbits while we were in Hawai’i) are in bed, and the time is right for a soak. Ciao!