The Day the Ice Broke

"The Day the Ice Breaks":
that's what they call it
when the temperature finally
gets back up to 100 degrees, again.

Today the ice broke, and just in time, too!
The Tucson Old Timers, ranging in age
from 60 to 87, start their games earlier
in Summer, to avoid mid-day heat,
and they shorten their games by an inning
after the ice breaks.

Even Billy, who is so thin that not only neutrinos,
but grains of sand, pass through his body unhindered,
has been noticeably wilting as the games goes on. His shorts--he looks fatter in long pants--flutter like banners on an outfield pole.

The Santa Cruz River

"Melting" is the wrong term, of course, because the ice does not go from a solid to a liquid state. It sublimates, bypassing the liquid state altogether, going directly to water vapor, and in normal summer temperatures in Tucson, there is precious little evidence of that, either.

So we are getting back to normal, here. We have taken off our All-Purpose tires, and put the Sand Tires back on. It is time to remove those little styrofoam hoods from the outside water faucets. Rattlesnakes finally feel warm enough to come out into the sun. And Billy has put on his baseball shorts.

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