We’re now in the month of August, some even considered it the dog days of summer, and while I’m amazed how fast the year is going it also got me thinking. Every assumes it’s Summer when the pools open and it’s warm enough to barbecue. But there are pools open year round and with the right crazy family member you can barbecue in the snow if you wanted to. To me it’s the little things that often go unnoticed.
First is something I’m doing while writing this very piece, watching “Jaws” on cable. In the past few years it seems clockwork that once summer hits this movie lands in rotation on every cable channel possible. It was originally released in theaters in the summer and just screams summer. Travel to a local island, swimming, sailing, and of sharks. I add sharks to that list because it’s only in the summer that people worry about sharks; maybe it goes hand in hand with the movie airing.
Then there’s the movie “The Sandlot”, which screams summer. Not because it’s about baseball, the worlds slowest sport after golf and curling, but because it’s about kids spending their summer vacation enjoying themselves and being kids. Kids out playing and having fun is what summer was about for so many of us yet nowadays kids would sooner sit in the AC or have parents who schedule every minute of their days off with “educational” or “enriching” things to do. Kids playing in yards, parks, and streets is very enriching for them and defines what summer is.
And while I mention streets you have to include music in the streets. Whether it’s a free show for the public, coming out of someones car or house, or your neighbor at the beach you are surrounded by music in the summer. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a genre you like as it sets the mood and time in your memory. I can’t tell how how many times I’ve heard a song on the radio or stereo in the middle of a winter snow storm that reminds me of a warm summer day from a time gone by.
So while your out and about bitching about how hot it is, take a moment and appreciate the subtle things that make summer summer. After all it won’t be long before we’re bombarded with holiday specials and cold weather and you’ll be wishing it was summer again.