Here and there on the horizon late last night quick bursts of lightning flashed across the sky like the flickering of gargantuan cosmic headlights. Then came a distant roll of thunder before the still air returned to its state of eerie normal for the past few days: Quiet, warm, and sort of creepy, the way the hot air walks over the skin. And that's only at night. The daytime is a whole 'nother story. To put it bluntly, it's f*cking hot outside right now. And it's going to get hotter.
Cruel, mean hot. Hell on concrete hot. Smoggy, icky, lean on the horn for no reason hot. The breezes come to "rend open the heat," but, if it's hot wind, is it really respite? No, not with endless flat miles of baking concrete and angry idling engines.
The mayor's office and the L.A. Department of Water & Power are calling an emergency press conference at this hour to urge people to reduce their energy consumption. Good luck with that. Remember, Children + Hot Weather & Cars = Danger! For now, anyway.
* Photo by 4x4jeepchick via Flickr.