2023-05-13 Journal Entry

🍃 Season: 🌷 Spring 🔆 Weekday: Saturday 🗓 Date: May 13, 2023 📅 Week: May 8 – May 14, 2023

My drink reverberated with the drums outside. The parade outside had begun its slow decline, a marching band bringing up the rear with the final strain of “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine,” an enthusiastic drummer pounding the bass drum hard enough to shake the top of the bar.

This place had no air conditioning, and by this time in the middle of the day, my shirt was stained with sweat. Paradegoers had since started pouring in the front door, most ordering soda or lemonade with extra ice.

The man seated next to me, however, was impervious to the heat. He was tall, thin, in his mid-sixties by my estimation, and dressed handsomely in a linen summer suit. He had not the first mark of sweat on him. He sat silently watching the band turn the corner, looking up towards the tops of the buildings on either side of the street. Even when the color guard had turned out of sight, his eyes remained fixed.