Stumpy is a shrewd businessman. After the freezer issues he has had, he invested in a big walk-in freezer that can hold a year’s worth of frozen goods. In particular, he invested in ice, ice cream, and frozen yogurt, and let me tell you, Stumpy could charge fifteen bucks a gallon and folks would still pay him with a grin on their faces and gratitude in their hearts.

Even though folks around here spend a lot of time in arid places, something about it being this hot at home just sorta saps the strength from you. This was made all the worse for the wildfire advisory, which meant you couldn’t fire up the grill, but it was too hot to want to cook in the house. Jack Mason, of course, has that electric cooker. Yes, the one the rest of the Council of Old Guys ribbed him so harshly for. Well, today, he was the one laughing. He invited them up for “left overs” which was a joke in itself. After cooking up enough food for a Song family reunion, Jack was so nauseated from the heat that he didn’t feel like eating much.

Edna has been serving smoothies and milkshakes almost exclusively today. She thanked the Town Council for the business development grant that paid for the six industrial blenders she bought two years ago during the last big heat wave. “It’s just gettin’ warmer, dearhearts. Don’t see why you should be any at all surprised,” she said to no customer in particular, but with that certain paternal exasperation usually reserved for dim-witted children or puppies scared of their own tails.

Several of our Off-Grid neighbors were spotted making a go of trying to cool down near the river. The heat seems to have kept the badgers in hiding, so they were able to enjoy themselves in peace. Mama Jones asked if there was any word about any more “fishing trips,” because since that night, the badgers have not been nearly as aggressive. She said it almost makes her want to bring the girls to the quarry more often, but she knows better than to trust the water.