Noticing the year: 09/19/08

[urbpan]

Years ago I read a book (I think it was called Song of the Forest, but I'm in too much of a hurry to google it) written by a French ethnomusicologist who went to live with the Baka pygmies somewhere in central Africa. The descriptions of daily life were what interested me, and his eventual acceptance by the locals and his interactions with them. Sometimes he would tell them stories about where he was from, and they would listen incredulously to these hard to believe yarns. One of the tall tales he told was that sometimes, where he lived in France, it got so cold that people had to wear clothes on their hands. Can you imagine? They thought he was a liar.

Anyway, this is the first morning of the year that I wished I was wearing clothes on my hands. The widget on my screen says 44 degrees F. (It's still technically summer until this weekend.)

I'll probably spend my lunch break today researching places to live in the tropics.