Happy Summer

Today is the official first day of summer. Also called midsummer, as in "A Midsummer Night's Dream". It is the longest day of the year, which seems odd, since the days just seem to fly in the summer, and the winter solstice which is the shortest day of the year, seems to drag on forever.

The weather today, either is or is not conducive to the sense of magic that Shakespeare put into his play. It is cloudy here in Boston and the temperatures are only suppose to make it into the low 70's. But they are threatening thunderstorms, and the roses are still in bloom, late spring flowers are still in evidence and the world is still seeming young and fresh.

By August, the city will seem dusty and tired. All of the fresh green of spring will have somehow lost its vibrancy and the slow pace of high summer will have effected both the appearance and mood of the city.

For now it is almost like a mood of anticipation. A red-tailed hawk circles over the turnpike and then settles on the red tile roof of the old Hotel Somerset on Charlesgate. The scent of the lime trees in bloom soften the air, harsh with the exhaust fumes of the morning commuters. The pace has slowed. The students gone for the summer in this college town, people are more leisurely, the chores and cares of the day can wait a bit for attention.

Men in t-shirts and tanks call out for my attention, though summer is a time for love, not spring. The mating dance is done. Spring, that lusty and burgeoning season has exhausted itself and now like a perfectly ripe peach, summer waits to drop in our lap. Now is the time for long days, picnics, the beach, or seeking the shelter of cool shade to refresh from meandering in the sun. Short nights spent dancing, going here and there for an evenings entertainment or simply finding a congenial spot to enjoy the cool of th evening air, building a cache of memories to warm the long winter nights.

But today is grey. I hope we do get the thunderstorms they are promising. Sturm und Drang. Some proper drama for the day. Oberon and Titania in conflict, then a clearing sky, the sun, reunion, the happy lovers united at last. I do not know what the day will bring, but reading this over, I have put on my donkeys ears. I am looking at the world differently, and who knows what wonders this day and the newly minted summer will bring.

The New Tenent

I don't know how well anyone can see this, but a robin has taken up residence in my rose bush. Pretty cool huh?

Good Cause

A lot of talk goes on about doing the right thing. Helping people. Making a difference. Dave is actually doing that. Follow the link over to his blog. Make a donation. You'll feel good. Trust me.

Shopping list

As I was working out this morning it occurred to me that I should stop at the drugstore on the way into work. The foremost reason being that I had neglected to buy a birthday card for Monkey. He turns an ancient 31 today.

I also decided I should get some decongestant as well, because getting my Allegra refilled was one of the personal errands that got pushed aside over the weekend. Then I remembered I needed toothpaste, a necessary purchase for if no other reason the obscene amount of money that I spend at the dentist, and I was running low on condoms and lube, another necessary purchase, if for no other reason than the idea that hope springs eternal.

Quite a shopping list, huh? I have since been trying to think of possible stories that the check out clerk could construct from the items that I purchased. I am thinking it would involve preparations for a big birthday celebration for a loved one. Or at least a lusted one, accompanied by hay fever and a desperate sensibility about oral hygiene.

I remember a woman that I once knew who had a big, friendly Lab. He was a great dog except for a certain unreasoning attraction to skunks. I can tell you, there are plenty of skunks in the Boston are, so he had plenty of opportunities to make new friends. She discovered after living with a rather more fragrant than usual dog that a product called "Summers Eve" was especially effective in counteracting the effects of skunk.

He was a big dog and it took a lot of... er... feminine hygiene product to bath the dog. She found buying it in large quantities a little embarrassing, so she used to go to a convenience store in the dead of night. One night she just broke down and decided to buy a case. When she brought her purchase up to the counter the young man gave her a curious and slightly horrified look.

She had a skunked dog, a case of douche and I am guessing about all she felt like taking for that day because she looked him in the eye and just said,"I'm having a really heavy month, okay?"

Happy Father's Day

My daughter called me. I called my Dad. Done and dusted.