Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 2:30 a.m. in "The City."

I just heard the sound of thunder, so I looked out the WW and what did I see? It is raining. This rain event is expected to last until 3:00 a.m. with periods of heavy T-storms. I didn't see this on yesterday's forecast, but most importantly, I won't have to water this morning. The current temperature is 65°, which will lead to today's high of 71°, with cloudy skies in the morning and sunny skies in the afternoon. All good by me.

It was in the song Camelot that the lyrics sung by King Arthur noted the following, which I think often applies to "The City."

It's true! It's true! The crown has made it clear.

The climate must be perfect all the year.

A law was made a distant moon ago here:

July and August cannot be too hot.

And there's a legal limit to the snow here

In Camelot.

The winter is forbidden till December

And exits March the second on the dot.

By order, summer lingers through September

In Camelot.

Camelot! Camelot!

I know it sounds a bit bizarre,

But in Camelot, Camelot

That's how conditions are.

The rain may never fall till after sundown.

By eight, the morning fog must disappear.

In short, there's simply not

A more congenial spot

For happily-ever-aftering than here In Camelot.id the following, "

At any rate, the tourists here in our own little Camelot will enjoy this holiday weekend. We are anticipating thousands of visitors for the weekend as well as for the Fourth of July fireworks that follow the show of our famous Musical Fountain. Per city instructions, people are not allowed to reserve spots until 12:01 a.m. on July 4th. I have seen this instruction disregarded many times. 

In sports news, the Cubs were going for four wins in a row. They didn't make it, as they lost to the Mets 3 - 4 last night. That still leaves them well ahead of the 2nd place Cardinals, with the Cubs leading the N. L. Central with a record of 51 - 27. The Cubs and the Mets play again tonight in game two of this four game series. 

The Tigers were more successful, as they defeated the Rays, 10 - 7. That means that the Tigers have a record of 41 - 38 in the A. L. Central, alone in 3rd place, 7.5 games in back of the Indians, but more importantly, 1.0 game ahead of that other team from Chicago. 

My beloved Red Sox were off yesterday. They host the Angels tonight. The Sox have an A. L. East record of 42 - 36, 5.5 games behind the front running Orioles. 

The Caps are in a world of hurt, as they lost to their Midwest League East rivals, the Bowling Green Hot Rods by a lopsided score of 2 - 12. The Caps a solid and solo hold on the cellar @ 2 - 6. with all the other teams ahead of them having a better won/lost record. The Caps visit the Dayton Dragons tonight. 

The trains were running late yesterday. I spotted EMD GP 38 locomotives 2057 and 2019 looking shiny and new as they moved slowly through the RSTL @ 1:01 p.m., heading south. In tow were one BC, 16 CHCs, two GTCs, five DWTCs, which if loaded were carrying HCl acid, one RTC (Red Tank Car), contents unknown, along with 30 DBTCs of varying ages. The way the house shook, I am surmising that some cars were loaded while others were not. 

At 5:07 p.m., the same tandem of locomotives rolled through heading north. The horn-happy engineer must have been at the throttles, as the horns of the lead locomotive, #2057, were constantly sounding. However, there were some crazy drivers out there, as I sat on the porch reading and watched cars race across the tracks to avoid being held up by the train's passage. Perhaps the engineer was being prescient. However, he used to do that same thing at 2:00 a.m. too. 

The train was moving slowly as I and the girls from around the corner sat under a nearby tree and watched the passage. The train consisted of 10 CHCs. and one DBTC. The idiots who just couldn't wait for the train's passage, needlessly risked their lives and ours. 

Not much happened yesterday. We got up late after reading in bed and listening to the radio. I am now on page 642 of 950 in this large print book. We walked to the post office and picked up the Grand Haven Tribune from the box in front.

I did water yesterday, which must have assured that the rains that have already ended this morning took place. Aside from one clap of thunder, there has been no additional T-storm activity. So much for that NWS forecast of doom and gloom.

Today, I have that appointment at the orthopedist and then we may go to Holland for some errands. Mary has a chat today, but I doubt that she'll make it back by the 2:00 p.m. start time. 

We will take another walk with STWD this morning. The intrepid one may go berserk again when she sees other dogs. She did that yesterday, nearly pulling Mary's shoulder out of place in Central Park. Mary says that she will need to visit the orthopedist herself if that happens. With me in my one-handed condition, Mary has to hold the leash and restrain Sugar, who has a lot of power for a short dog. We like to say that she is our "Little Big Dog", a large dog with short legs and a big dog's bark and strength.

That looks like enough for one day. The sun will rise @ 6:09 a.m. and set @ 9:28 p.m., as the days get shorter. Ciao.