It felt like summer when we went out this morning. Until we turned the corner and were hit in the face by San Geraldo’s cyclonic winds.
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| SEEN FROM THE TERRACE RECENTLY. MOTORIZED. NO NEED FOR WIND. (CLICK TO SEE THE BIG BIRD, MAN.) |
In his Spanish class this week, San Geraldo learned the names for the seasons, weather, and winds. Today, we experienced “viento de levante,” an easterly wind — on the western Mediterranean Sea (and in Southern France). It’s also known as “mountain-gap wind.” San Geraldo is enjoying talking about the winds and about “la tormenta” (the storm). A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
This song is a lot cuter when San Geraldo sings it
(but you’ll have to take my word for that):
I had never heard this song until I met San Geraldo. According to Wikipedia, Junior Birdmen of America was a club for boys interested in building model airplanes. I didn’t understand why San Geraldo would know this song and I wouldn’t. But then I read on; the club was founded around 1934, which means that, by the time I was born in New York City in the mid ’50s, the club was probably history — and therefore would probably have only recently arrived in South Dakota.
As they used to say:
“Welcome to South Dakota. Set your watches back 10 years.”
