Friday, 7/14

I have never, ever been accused of being a pessimist. I always look at the good side of things, and I’m always marveling at the potential of what’s to come. Yet I was struck with a thought this morning—

If you consider summer to be the months of June, July, and August, then tomorrow's marks the halfway point of the season.

SUMMER’S HALF OVER!!!!

So, for the moment, at least, feel free to call me “Mr. Pessimist”.

The sad thing about that observation is that it really doesn’t SEEM like summer’s been with us long enough to be half over. So much of the past month and a half has been so cold and so wet (for instance, did you know that here in the city of Marquette it hasn't been above 80 since June 23rd?), and so many of us spent the month and a half complaining about it, that it really doesn’t seem like we’ve used up half of our allotment of summer. It just seems like winter and what passes for spring up here lasted so long that, well, summer just started. Not that it’s halfway over.

That's just not right.

But numbers don't lie. There are three months (June, July, and August) to “summer”. Tomorrow is the mid-point of the mid month. It's like we're at that moment when you're on a teeter-totter and it's perfectly balanced between you and the person on the other side. That's where we are tomorrow. Sunday, you start heading toward the ground, or up in the air, depending upon your point of view.

And if that's a mangled metaphor, I don't know what is.

But since I don’t seem to have the capability to be a pessimist for long, let me share a neat local weather forecast that I picked up a couple of years ago. According to records from this century—the past 22 years--Marquette has gotten an average of almost five 85+ degree days AFTER July 15th. That means the second half of summer promises at least a little more warmth.

So while summer may really BE half over, it seems like the best of it may yet be coming. And if that’s not cause for a return to optimism, I don’t know WHAT is!

Enjoy your “mid-point of summer” day tomorrow, have a great weekend, and get ready to enjoy the rest of the season.

(jim@wmqt.com)