My friend Rick, whom I’ve known since high school (just spoke with him today, as a matter of fact), actually likes humid weather.

“Ed”. he is fond of saying, “Humidity is your friend.”

“Oh, it is, is it?”

“Yes, it’s your friend. It sees you there and it says ‘Rick! Rick! How are you?! It’s been so long!’ and it puts its arms around you and gives you a big hug and holds you close.”

“It does, rather, doesn’t it.”

“Yes. It hugs you and won’t let you go, ‘cause it thinks you’re special and it wants to be close to you!”

“Ah.”

This conversation happens in the warm months when I visit him in the southern state where he lives (starts with an “A”) or when he visits me in the mid-western state where I live (starts with an “M”). Both of these places are rather humid, as is the eastern state where we went to High School and College together (starts with a “V”).

Before I gained a bit of life experience, I frequently thought Rick was just plain nuts, but I’ve come to see that while his manner of expression is a bit unusual, there is undeniable wisdom in his words.

Today, as I leaned into humidity’s embrace and found its fruit popping up all around me, I felt I’d wandered into another Kingdom altogether. Why don’t you take a look?