a severe thunderstorm is coming in, but i'm up, unable to sleep, hanging around in my chair with the puppy, listening to the thunder outside. it's been stiflingly hot and muggy all day. i decided that i had to protect myself from it; it was too hard to keep coming and going from airconditioning to that kind of weather, so i started to lay low, and got more involved in my book. i drank a third cup of coffee, late, because i was having trouble functioning. but that did it. now i'm wide awake, listening to the thunder, while everyone else is zonked out.

they were asleep by about nine. most of them had been up since the night before - a long night, thursday night, while i had gotten a whole night's sleep. most of them were so tired, they were gone early. i alone stayed up with my coffee buzz, went to bed late, and still couldn't get to sleep.

on my book, i got deep into the early days of harvard, when john leverett was trying to control rampant drinking and carousing on campus. they finally had enough students to pay the bills, but their success brought problems: just enough that they could go out in packs, causing trouble and raising eyebrows. that's as far as my reading has gotten me.

i have a son who is in the hospital. my heart is hurting from worrying about him, but my guess is that he will be doing ok by now. i will probably go to des plaines to pick him up in a day or two. i am not sure when he'll be ready and it's causing a lot of stress. the reason is, we have way more than enough problems already around here.

a little rain would really help this situation which i refer to as ninety-nine ninety-nine. that is, ninety nine degrees, ninety-nine percent humidity. sauna or hot tub. in my present condition it's duck out and stay in the air con.

the intensity of it all - two trips across the state through high cornfields, in the midsummer heat, one to get his car which had its engine light on most of the way - and the uncertainty of where to put him, where he can recover and get better - this has been hard on me.

i dive into my book sometimes. it's actually doing well. it has plenty of work to go, but i can see the finish line. it was an intense time, those 1700s. i wouldn't wish them on anyone.