And I ran. I ran so far away....

It's been so blooming hot around here lately, it's been awful. Just awful. Tempers flare as the mercury rises. I'm hot and cranky. Not sleeping well. The sheets stick to my sweaty body at night. Relief is not found. Cold showers are only good while you stand under the water. My head is hot. Once the water is turned off, my body has a thin film of sweat on it again. I feel dirty and I've just gotten out of the shower.

To break the monotony of the heat, I retreat to late shows at the movies. The theater is dark and cool. I can relax. I don't really care what I'm going to watch. I just want to cool down. My inner core is on fire. I need air conditioning. Once inside, I find my favorite seat. Nobody sits in front of me and I put my hot feet up. I start to cool down. My baked brain can somewhat function. All the cylinders are firing again.

Last night I retreated to the movies. It seemed as if everybody and their mother decided to hit the flicks. I had to park far from the building. Not that it would bother me so much, but the moment I put the car in "park" the sky opened up and the lightning started to crack around me.

Do I go for it? Do I stay put? My family is inside the building and I'm in the car. The tickets are purchased. I see others in the parking lot running for cover. Looks like I'll join the crowd on this one.

I got out of the car and slammed the door shut. I took a deep breath and started to move. Really move. Like the wind. I pumped my legs as fast as they could go. I was really hauling ass. I glanced behind me and saw a bolt of lightning. It was like God's electrical zipper coming out of the sky. It was damn scary. Seeing this, I decided to run faster. Not that I could outrun a bolt of lightning, but I was going to make it a little trickier to get blasted out of my shoes.

I ran and ran. I felt my legs start to wobble. Any longer and I was going to totally wipe out. On the cement. In front of a lot of people. They would laugh and I would be seriously physically hurt. The building doors were coming up fast.

I reached the door and a girl held it open for me. We were both soaked from the rain. I looked at her, and she at me. I said, "Man, I haven't run like that since high school." She laughed. And, I said, "No, I'm not kidding. I think I'm going to barf."

She asked me if I was ok. My heart was pounding and my legs didn't want to move and I really did feel like I was going to barf, but I was ok.

I found my dude still waiting in line to buy our tickets. When they were purchased, I told him what I did. I was so proud of myself. I did more than a scamper. I actually ran. It was full-on trucking.

He got a twinkle in his eye, put his arm around me and said, "Who are you kidding? You didn't run in high school."

You know what? He was right.