When you're a kid, you can at least console yourself that it's not school time yet. Sure, your family went on vacation in July, and the Fourth is over, and the weather is uncomfortable, and you're bored, and all the movies you were looking forward to have opened and gone, and you had a fight with your friend, and your other friend went on a stupid trip to stupid Hershey without you, and you spent all your money... it's still better than school.
Of course it's worse when you're an adult. No time off and commuting through blazing sun to go to work, except for those days when you get thunderstorms and show up drenched. Or maybe you work outside, and get to enjoy the weather all damn day.
August in a nutshell:
🌞🌞🌞🌞⛈🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞⛈⛈🌞🌞🌞🌞⛈🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞⛈🌞🌞
Traditionally in the American newspaper game August was the Silly Season, because nothing much was going on and newspapers filled space with stories of bizarre happenings. People started to act crazy with the heat, so there were lots of bizarre happenings to report. Of course, thanks to the Internet and our sick, sad culture, every season is silly season now.
In C.M. Kornbluth's 1950 story "The Silly Season," Martians successfully invade the earth at this time of year because all reports of weird events are written off as goofy, nutty things people are saying because they've gone loopy in the summer heat. I always think of that story around this time of year.
Keep watching the skies. After all, if every season is now silly, the invasion could come anytime.
Actually, judging by many of the people I see around town and on the Internet, the Martians landed some time ago.
So enjoy your August, whether you have to work or go back to school before Labor Day (as in some sorry, benighted precincts) or not. If the summer is too hot, that lovely autumn air will feel that much better.
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