Like A Breath Of...

 Finally -- some cool air has arrived! When we get lucky in Miami, the cool fronts start late October, but that's rare. In 2005, after Hurricane Wilma, we had one -- nights in the 60s and 50s. Wifey and the Ds decamped to Atlanta since the power would be out for awhile, and our across the street friends Susan and her kids left for Orlando. Pat and I stayed behind, and after dinner each night, we would sit outside, on his back patio or my front porch, sipping Middleton whiskey and feeling like cavemen. 

But again -- that's rare, and it took until the week before T Day this year for the temperature relief. As I type this, it's 53 degrees outside, and delightful. I'm thinking tonight might even call for my first fire pit of the year -- the last time our temperature had a 6 as its first number was last April...

So the news around here is all about T Day. D2 and Jonathan are hosting this year, and I can tell D2 is a bit on edge -- even though we're catering the affair for them. She still wants her house just so, and has been having Wifey bring over dessert trays, extra chairs, and things of that nature. I have zero doubt the 25 of us will have a banner day -- at one point it appeared it would be 40, but some of the siblings and their families begged off for other commitments.

Tomorrow is the final Canes home game, and I'm going with Mirta for the first time this year. It's a noon game -- my least favorite -- but we'll head up to tailgate to honor Loni's Dad Don, whose memorial and Mass were on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, D1 is hosting a get together for her birthday, which falls the day before T Day. She's brought in Pura Vida to family friend Andrew's Wynwood Art Gallery -- all women, including Wifey and her suegra Jacqui. She used to baby sit Andrew, and he earned himself a Master's from an Ivy League school, like his parents, and after a stint in NYC returned to his roots. His Mom. an exec with Art Basel, is the one who told me Miami has emerged as a Top 5 city for modern art in the US -- largely because of Basel.

I have little interest in Modern Art, but it's nice to know it's around -- in case I ever graduate from my sense of the visual, which is basically velvet with dogs sitting around playing poker...

So I'm off soon to my somewhat sadistic dental hygienist, a dentist from Guyana who now does the cleanings. I miss Lucy, who I had for years -- she retired. This woman chides me each time about not flossing, and has less than a gentle hand. I think today will be my final visit with her -- the practice, which is a bit strange, has hired an additional person -- I'll give her a try.

I say it's strange, because my long time dentist, Larry, retired but hasn't retired. He's in his 70s, and never there -- a younger Cuban guy is -- but when I ask, they say he still comes around. I guess he just can't bring himself to write the standard "Thanks for the memories" letter. He's a nice guy -- always said he and his wife and Wifey and I should get together -- they live in Pinecrest and have twins a few years older then D1, but it never came to pass.

It's funny -- Wifey pointed out to me how many people say "We really should get together," but don't truly mean it. I have taken up the lesson -- with me, it's either "How about dinner, Saturday?" or I say nothing about plans. What are words for?

But for now, I plan on digging out my Canes hoodie from the back of my SUV -- I leave it there, with an auxiliary green sweater that invariably Wifey needs this time of year when she underestimates how cool it is when we go out at night.

And I savor that great inhalation of... freshness. The best time of the year in Miami is here.