It's summertime!

'Course, you really can't tell around Chicago. It's gotten only up to 84, and it rains pretty frequently. It's like April or May rather than July or August.

Not that I'm really complaining, actually. I haven't had a real vacation yet, and going to work every day just makes me glad it's not really the summer I'm missing.

The Chicago Cubs are, as of this writing, in first place in their division - not that I'm looking forward to that lasting, but it's nice that they are starting to act like a ball team instead of a bunch of amateurs.

For true amateur hour, you can't beat the Schuamburg Flyers, a single A ballclub that recently played the Chicago Bandits, a women's pro softball team, in "The Battle of the Sexes II". Granted, they played with softballs and pitched underhand, and I don't think the guys expected such good pitching (a Flyer actually swung the bat when the ball stalled in mid-air some fifteen feet out from home plate!) or such wicked fielding (they can throw that ball!). Still, the Flyers did end up with egg on their face after their second pitcher promptly walked something like six in a row.

Yes, the girls won the game, and I don't begrudge them the victory - but I do wish the Flyers had a little more on the ball and actually connected with the ball once in a while. Could be why they're ten back in the Frontier League standings.

Oh, the Flyers actually had a girl in one of those Batgirl black costume dresses as the batgirl for the game. Played the TV Batman theme when she ran out. Beats the race around the infield in swim flippers, I suppose, and definitely aces the two people dressed as chicken burritos being chased by a fiery El Pollo Loco chicken. I don't know, I just like my baseball a little more serious.

I went down to Venetian Night in Chicago, which is a parade of decorated, lighted boats to a theme - this year's was Hollywood. Strangely, the last time I ventured downtown the theme was Hollywood. Oh well. There were twenty-eight boats decorated in everything from Pirates of the Carribean (two of them - one lame, one cool) to Chicago 2016 (which is when we're trying to get the Olympics - not much to do with Hollywood though).

Strangely, for the half-million people down there along the waterfront, barring some s-l-o-w traffic on the way in, getting to a prime viewing spot was really easy - just walked on over. Saw a terrific fireworks show coordinated to Hollywood theme music, including (of course) Star Wars and Batman. Ridiculously good fireworks.

Afterward, I wandered over to the Artist's Snack Shop, one of those old been-there-since-1940 places that serves a little of everything, and sat out on the sidewalk. Turns out to get to a restroom you are given a pass (grade school!) then have to go back into the Fine arts building where an elevator operator takes you upstairs to a long lonely hallway where you have to go all the way to the end and turn twice before getting there - how'd you like your gal to go through that maze? I wasn't too crazy about it either.

Reason I mention this is I had on my Notre Dame hat and as I was coming down, struck up a conversation with the elevator operator. Turns out this very building had once been home to the Notre Dame Club of Chicago and they had rooms full of trophies and stuff in the basement. See, it says so right on this nice wall plaque, which I hadn't noticed until he pointed it out. It was one of those that tries to explain everything, about two feet high. Whoa - I'll have to come back during the daytime when it's open.

It should be noted that Maggie wasn't feeling well that night and didn't go, thus missing out on one of the most perfect nights I've enjoyed in a while. Next time when we go down, I'll be sure and park a mile away and not get good seats and not have needed reservations for the restaurant.

Anyway.

Yes, there's new artwork in Americana's Art Gallery #25! I am still trying to get caught up in stories yet, and have plenty of pictures done for future stories. If Eryck Webb wasn't having such cheap prices for sale I wouldn't be buying, but hey.

There is new art available in Captain Thunder, Angel Flight, The Enforcers, and The Justice Squadron sections of Forte Universe.

There is also a new Enforcers story, kind of an introduction to Detroit's incredible team of crimebusters. Check it out at The Enforcers!

The real big news is, for all you fans out there complaining that the Americana stories only go back as far as number 31? Well, no more!

I've begun to scan the old texts into my computer, and have been hard at work converting them to HTML format (yes, the scanner does have an HTML setting, but the initial results were just disastrous). I'm just putting in codes, fiddling with scanner-induced misspellings and such - NOT rewriting them - but it's taking a good long time to do.

That said, I've got the first EIGHT stories posted! Meet Astrea Starr, Arthur Findlay, Ruth MacCorkindale, and Beth Sullivan for the first time! See Astrea try to figure out her powers - how they work, and what to do with them! Thrill as she deals with her first Nighthawks, and her first supervillains! You can access them through Americana's Check Out My Back Issues! page!

And continuing from last issue, Americana is flying to England with her former (?) enemy, Scatter, in an attempt to rescue Scatter's little boy. Naturally, things don't go nearly as easy as the heroine expects. Find out just what happens in England Swings Like A Pendulum Do - extra points for telling me where I got the title!

All in all, a pretty good bunch of stuff!

Here's wishing everyone a safe and relaxing summer!

K.C.