Mustang Schorty

My view for 200 miles or so of driving.
I'll say this much for visiting Oxford, Mississippi: I had a Ford Mustang for a rental car. That's fairly awesome.
Mmmmm. Pecan beer.

Sidenote: When did they start removing the awesomeness from cars? Several times I floored the car at a dead stop and it couldn't even squeal the tires. They didn't even momentarily bleep when I hit the gas. Traction control has killed Ford for me.

I was visiting my cousin, RyGuy, who is a freshman at Ole Miss. Oxford is a town of about 20,000 people which houses a university of about 20,000 non-resident students. It's like my hometown of Stillwater, Minnesota, but with a major university there.

There was an unexpected bonus of visiting the South: Nobody complained about the heat. And I had a Ford Mustang when I rented an economy car, but that's neither here nor there. Southerners expect it to be in the 90s and humid during the day. It didn't disappoint. But it was fine.

The trick to summer in the South is simple. Stay indoors as much as possible. On the one whole day I was there (I traveled in on Friday and out on Sunday), we A. Went to the movies; B. Played Golden Tee golf in a bar downtown; C. Ate a couple of meals out.

This place looked awesome, but had three beers on tap.
I am a snob, apparently.
Notice what's not on that list? Moving. Moving creates body heat which generates sweat. Or something like that. And sweat is the enemy.

We toured the town a bit. There's plenty to like. A central square where every other building seemed to have a porch for drinking and dining on the second floor. Good food. Every guy in town was wearing polo shirts and flip-flops. It was the South.

I was reminded of those fond Mississippi memories this evening when I looked up at the Time and Temperature Building (that's the actual name) here in Portland. At 7 p.m., the temperature was 64 degrees.

Seriously? Summer is already over? OK, let's not go that far. But the day-after-day, 90-degree-heat days appear to be gone. This isn't all bad. Here's how I choose how to think of it: It has been crappy hot for the last time 'til T-Dubs graduates. Because, really, it all relates back to that.

Comments

  1. JPJuly 26, 2011 at 4:23 PM

    1. And I didn't have shades.
    2. I don't own flip-flops.
    3. I know, right?
    4. I am.
    5. May 20th, 2012. But who's counting?
    6. Sorry!
    6a. Thanks!

    I love lists. They're the best. evah!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JillJuly 26, 2011 at 7:37 PM

    Ugh. Polo shirts and flip flops. I just think of all the 'Bama boys at the Sugar Bowl. Don't forget the 'Bama bang. Icckkkkkkk. But, what a nice vacation! 61-5-6.

    ReplyDelete

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