Pronunciation: \ˈdōl-drəmz, ˈdäl-, ˈdȯl-\
Function: noun plural
Etymology: probably akin to Old English dol foolish
Date: 1811
1: a spell of listlessness or despondency
2often capitalized : a part of the ocean near the equator abounding in calms, squalls, and light shifting winds
3: a state or period of inactivity, stagnation, or slump
Indigo went home yesterday; got home safely after a long and arduous journey. IIRC, it's almost 600 miles from here to there.
The day he left our air conditioner stopped working AGAIN. Superman bought me a small window unit for our bedroom. It's comfortable in here. This early in the morning it's almost bearable in the rest of the house. By early afternoon it'll be miserable out there.
I learned yesterday that our central a/c unit is 25 years old. I had no idea it was that old. We obviously need a new one. You know we don't have $2500 lying around. Superman is going to make some calls, talk to some people, try to get us a deal or something. It'll work out somehow. If I can stay in my one cool room I might be ok. But there is a lot of stuff I need to do out there. Sigh.
It's early July. The doldrums. July is a long month, followed by August which is another supernaturally long month. Between the two of them we are approximately 180 days from the brisk winds of autumn. Here in the doldrums we just plod along, getting nowhere. Shit happens, troubles build, tensions mount, verbs follow nouns. It is an ineffective time with no end in sight. This is not my favorite time of year.
I read an extremely good book some years ago called Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. I highly recommend it. It was the Newberry Award winner in 1956. The book has a nautic
al setting, which brings me to my point. In the book, our hero is on a masted sailing ship trapped in the doldrums. However, they do not sit waiting for the fickle winds to blow. No, they sail on an ash breeze.I need to find my ash, get my ash working on the problems.
