I can’t think of many things worse than losing your home and everything in it. Certainly, the most important thing is to have your family and and all your critters make it out OK, ‘cuz stuff is just stuff, and most stuff can be replaced. A lot of stuff can’t, though, and even the stuff that can be replaced requires a lot of time, money, and hassle to get back again. So, to everybody in the Boulder who’ve lost their homes in the wildfire, our thoughts are with you. I’ve only been in the vicinity of Boulder/Denver once (well, twice I guess; once on the way out to Utah, and then on the way back), but it’s a beautiful area, and the loss of all that beautyl and wildlife is also a shame. I only hope the godless socialist government can provide at least some relief. Apparently the fire started as the result of a vehicle colliding with a propane tank, which is never a good idea.

Here, things remain the same. Yesterday was (predictably) one of the longest days I’ve had the misfortune of suffering through, and I was quite happy to get home and go to bed early last night. Unfortunately, a cold front came though in the middle of the night bringing thunderstorms and scaring the dogs. In other words, not much sleep for me. Oh well, at least it should be nice and cool today.

It was 44 years ago today – September 8, 1966 – that Star Trek premiered on NBC. Despite its premature assassination at the hands of witless network executives in 1969, the Star Trek universe has managed to live long and prosper, as several generations of characters have continued to explore strange new worlds, and to seek out new life and new civilizations.

Speaking of seeking things out, my search for a tractor continues, and I think it’s gonna involve a road trip to a used tractor place in Binghamton (which is about an hour south of here) on Saturday. None of the used tractor places around here seem to have what I’m looking for at my price range. I feel as if I’m hemorrhaging money at this point, and I haven’t even closed on the new house. It will, of course, only get worse.

Although a lot of kids actually went back yesterday (apparently they have this thing now where they bring the incoming freshmen in a day early to acclimate to high school; there was no such consideration back when I started 9th grade), today is what we always referred to as “Black Wednesday” – the first day of school. From what I understand, a lot of kids are excited to start school again after the summer. I never was. Oh, it was OK to see friends you didn’t see over the break, but, for the most part, I was always quite content to be on vacation, and I would be quite happy to win the lottery and retire right now.

That doesn’t seem likely, though, so I guess I’ll just have to slog through another day, and boldly go where I have mind-numbingly gone so many times before. To work.