From cleanup to Kate Middleton's uterus

Somehow, a month has passed and it's time for July cleanup. That involves appearing on the square at 6 a.m. to pick up cigarette butts and other trash. This always seems like a good idea --- at any time other than 5 a.m. on the designated morning.

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This also is the day Alliant Energy's tree contractor is scheduled to demolish (top and reshape) the two trees in my front yard. Planted at the same time the house was built, these are not ancient trees and because of ice storms they're a little raggedy, but still. 

Our utility, in its great wisdom, has decided to move electric services out of the alley (where there are no trees) and into the street (where there are), resulting in a peculiar jog that will suspend highline wires over the front yard.

This hardly seems like progress, but if you look at the airborne infrastructure around Chariton --- a nightmarish tangle of leaning poles and tangled milti-level electric, telephone and cable wires --- you would know this is not a place where either aesthetics or integrated planning has high priority.

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It's shaping up to be a busy week otherwise, too. Frank Mitchell will present a public program marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday in the lower-level meeting room at Chariton Public Library. All are welcome.

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On Thursday, we've got a Policies Committee meeting at 4:30 p.m. at the museum, the non-profit roundtable --- same location --- at 5:30 p.m. and the ice cream social at 6 p.m. (serving begins at 6:30; live music at 7 p.m.). That's going to keep those of us involved in all three moving at a good clip.

At least the day's high is supposed to be only in the lower 80s and fair skies are predicted. So hopefully the weather will cooperate.

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But you never know about the weather around here --- our surprise "shower" Sunday afternoon dumped roughly four inches of rain on Chariton in a fairly short period, leading to brief flooding. We used to call this a cloudburst. 

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Finally, why the gushing over-the-top media coverage (and apparent matching interest) in the product of Kate Middleton's uterus? Golly, I'm as much an anglophile as the next guy, but all of this seems excessive --- and rather silly.