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“I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire:
The day is hot, the Capulets abroad,
And, if we meet, we shall not ‘scape a brawl;
For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.”
-Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene I
Shakespeare certainly knew what he was taking about when he wrote these lines. Although I’m a young twenty-something living in the midwest and not a youthful gentleman from Renaissance Verona, I know how it feels to have my mad blood stirring.
Today was 93 with a heat index of 104 and humidity that was off the charts. All I could do was languish around feeling sweaty, sticky, and irritable. I would’ve spent any amount of money for comfort or committed any level of crime for relief. If I had been strolling or lounging around the steps of an Italian piazza, wearing tights no less, and had seen anyone who even vaguely annoyed me, I guarantee I would’ve drawn my sword and BRAWLED. Although I admire Benvolio’s good intentions, I’m with Mercutio on this one.
On a side note, this painting is wondrously called To the Death: A Sword and Dagger Fight With One Hand Beats Cold Death Aside, and With the Other Sends it Back.
