See You in September

-
“I notice that Autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

I was rolling by the produce aisle in my local supermarket yesterday when I got a sudden craving for some citrullus lanatus.

As we all know, this is the formal handle for watermelon, that famed flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family.

Watermelon was synonymous with summer when I was a kid, and I’d have a healthy helping of the stuff nearly every single day.

There were some nice pieces in the refrigerated section, and I thought about treating myself to some of this large edible fruit.

But then I stopped.

This was the last of August, meaning we were hours away from September, which means summer is over and I shouldn’t indulge in warm weather eats.

I’ll have to take out the air conditioners, pack away my beach chair, break out the cold weather gear and prepare for months short days and freezing temperatures.

I’ll relentlessly complain that summer goes too fast and that I didn’t do enough of my favorite warm weather activities

And somewhere in the middle of a snowstorm I will swear a blood oath that this is it, this is the last goddamn summer I will ever spend in New York, this time I’m really doing it, I’m hauling my aging carcass to LA or San Diego or Honolulu or someplace where I can wear shorts all year ‘round.

Of course, this is all lunacy, an annual ritual I put myself through just as the leaves get ready to fall. When summer winds down, my whining cranks up.

Complaining about cold weather has been something of a second career for me. It starts in mid-August when I notice that changes in the sunlight that comes streaming into my kitchen each morning and start muttering obscenities into my oatmeal.

The Leaves Turn Brown...

From there it’s just a matter of time before I’m in my parka and snow boots cursing the weather gods.

I sometimes wonder what I would do if I ever did move to a warmer climate and was forced up to give up all my meteorlogical misery.

Jesus, what I would do then? Be happy?

Businesses aren’t helping any. Starbucks started selling its Pumpkin Spice Latte on Aug. 22, the earliest date ever.

And Krispy Kreme is even worse, rolling out their pumpkin spice cake doughnut and pumpkin spice latte on Aug 12.

For the record I hate fall, I hate pumpkin spice anything and I really hate the cold weather.

Jimmy Kimmel does a bit every month where he’ll play a clip of local news anchors around the country saying something along the lines of “hey, can you believe it’s (insert month) already?”

It’s good for a laugh because I know that I do the same thing. Especially around the holidays.

The change in the season is a reminder that time is passing much too quickly. I’m getting older and so many of my New Year’s resolutions remain unfilled that I can pretty much carry them over to January 2025.

I’ve been working on my attitude lately, looking around for things that I can be thankful for and when I think of my family, my home and my job, I realize how lucky I am.

In addition, I’ve been listening and reading to various self-help/motivational types to drive the November out of my soul.

One of these people, Mel Robbins, sent out an email to her followers on Saturday.

“Can you believe today is the last day of August?” she begins. Oy, we just went through this.

But there was more…

“Tomorrow, we step into a new month,” she wrote. “Let's make a promise to each other and ourselves that this September we're going back to our routine and start prioritizing what we need. We got this!”

I like her approach better than mine. But I still hate pumpkin spice.

Comments

Beatrice P. Boyd said…
Hi Rob, while I can understand how you will be dreading winter weather, there are still several months of lovely fall weather to enjoy. And, as you wisely noted, you do have much to be thankful for and those are the best things to focus on.
1:24 PM
Rob Lenihan said…
Hi, Dorothy, point well taken about the lovely fall weather. There's just something about the end of summer that just bums me out.
4:50 PM
Bijoux said…
I’m always in a bit of a funk at the end of August. It really does go too fast. Let’s hope for warm temps until mid-December!
5:17 PM
Rob Lenihan said…
Great idea, Bijoux! Keep the warm temps coming!
2:35 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Bystander Effect

-
Image
Winston Moseley knew no one would stop him. “I knew they wouldn't do anything,” he told police after his arrest. “They never do.” Moseley murdered Kitty Genovese in Queens in 1964 in one of the most infamous murder cases in modern times. The horrific crime gained worldwide attention largely because of a New York Times article that said “38 respectable, law-abiding citizens” did nothing while Moseley attacked Kitty Genovese on three separate occasions. The story sparked worldwide condemnation and provided material for writers and composers, including the Phil Ochs song “ Outside of a Small Circle Friends .” There was talk of the Bystander Effect or the Genovese Effect and the words “I didn’t want to get involved” summed up life in the big city. The Kitty Genovese case is the subject of a new documentary called The Witness that explores the mythology surrounding the murder. The film features Kitty’s brother, Bill, who was 16 years old at the time of his sister’s murder.
Read more

Getting Connected

-
Image
“Feel the power, yo, and plug it in!” – The Electric Company Theme Mount Newsprint is no more. Today is the last day of my week-long vacation, and even though I didn’t hit all the goals on the most recent edition of my To-Do list, I did make some progress in cleaning up my apartment. I decided to stay local, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. I had no urge to get onboard a flying Covid-19 test tube, and go someplace where all the points of interest are either closed or severely restricted. Most other countries aren’t allowing Americans entry anyway, given our appalling infection and death rates. My one trip during the week was a ferry ride to downtown Manhattan. This used to be my daily commute, but now, after nearly five months of quarantine, I felt like Magellan sailing off for parts unknown. The route has changed since March and I wound up at the Cherry Street landing in downtown New York. There wasn’t a hell of a lot to see, frankly, it was awfully hot, and I ha
Read more

‘Permanently Closed’

-
Image
And, so, another local landmark is gone. My sister and I passed by O’Sullivan’s Bar & Grill in Bay Ridge last night during our after-dinner walk and saw nothing but darkness. There were no lights shining from this old Irish saloon that the O’Sullivan family took over in 1934. There were no customers outside taking a cigarette break on Third Avenue; no voices, music or laughter emenating from the corner business on 89th Street. A dark bar on a Saturday night only means one thing, but I didn’t want to accept the grim reality. I had to walk up to the front door, grab hold of the handle and pull back. But the place was locked up tight. This morning I jumped on the Internet in hopes of learning that the owners were on vacation, or that they were renovating the place and would be reopening in grand style any day now. But the bar’s Yelp page was branded with two grisly words at the top: “Permanently Closed.” I’ve been searching around local message boards for any ind
Read more