Hello, there. Well, here we are on Saturday, July 18, 2020; it’s early afternoon in my corner of Florida, and it’s a hot, cloudy one at that. My weather app informs me that that the temperature outside is 86˚F (30˚C), but with humidity at 77% and an easterly breeze of 12 mph, the feels-like temperature is 96˚F (36˚C). A scorcher to be sure, and yet another good reason to stay indoors and either read a book or watch a movie.
And, frankly, I’m going to need the distraction. Today is the fifth anniversary of my mom’s last day among the living. I’ve already written two posts on the topic[1], so there’s no need for a third. Suffice it to say, however, that July 18, 2015 was one of the worst days in my life, only eclipsed by the fact that my mother died before dawn on the 19th.
When I woke up early this morning – not sure what the exact time was, but it was before 9 AM – I made up my mind that while I wasn’t going to ignore the date and its meaning – its aftermath, after all, has shaped my present life situation, which in many ways is far different from what my mother wished for me and my wayward half-sister – I am not going to let grief and anger overwhelm me. Not today.
So far, I’ve spent much of my time here sitting at my desk. I have checked on the comings and goings of my friends – and a few relatives – on Facebook, exchanged a few bon mots with right-wing trolls on social media posts, mostly about COVID-19, but a few about Donald Trump and his incompetent, crooked, and meanspirited Administration, and played a few silly Facebook games, such as Top Gun and Fantasy Moguls CBS Sports Football Manager.
I also played a Quick Mission on my favorite new computer game, Cold Waters. It was a scenario that pitted my Seawolf-class nuclear-powered attack sub against a Chinese task force composed of several amphibious warfare ships, surface escorts, and even several People’s Liberation Army Navy (an odd name for a country’s naval arm, but…okay….) Xia-class missile subs, or boomers in Navy parlance. I did well, but that’s partly because the game’s AI decided to leave out the most powerful surface ships in the list I suggested, including the Soviet-era “aviation cruiser” Kiev.
I really like Cold Waters, but I wish someone would reissue 1988’s Red Storm Rising. The graphics and sound effects are downright primitive by today’s standards, but the game itself – which inspired Killerfish Games to create Cold Waters in 2017 – is still fun to play. I play it off my browser at ClassicReload.com, but…man…it would have been grand had Tommo/Retroism bought the rights from the original iteration of MicroProse and re-released it on Steam and GOG.com.
As for the rest of the day: well, I don’t have anything planned. I might play another Quick Mission of Cold Waters, or I might go to the Florida room and watch a movie. If not, I’ll read a bit from one of the books on my current To Be Read (TBR) pile.
Like I said earlier, I can’t – and won’t – ignore the personal meaning that the dates July 18 and 19 have for me, but I also don’t want to let negativity overwhelm me.
So, this brings us to the close of this post. I don’t think I’ll be writing another one later, so until next time, Constant (or Not-So-Constant) Reader, I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things
[1] Please see Why July is NOT My Favorite Month: Part One and Why July is NOT My Favorite Month: Part Two.
