August 31, 2011
Floating along
Nothin’ but time.
There are few things I dislike. But I will tell you right now that the final day of August is one of them.
Hate it, hate it, hate it.
If I were Queen I would declare that summer is to last one more month. While I was at it, I’d also institute three-day weekends and clocks that make time stand still when so desired, so y’all may begin the civil revolution right now to get me on the throne as soon as possible, for everyone’s sake. Did I mention that every Wednesday would be free ice cream day?
By the end of each August in recent memory, I’m finally primed and ready for that precious stillness between the flow of summer’s socialness, and the push of the other three seasons’ urgency. It’s August, usually somewhere woefully late, like the final day of the second week, in which I stumble upon a certain, calm sweet spot: a slack tide in my work-intensive year that’s filled with promise, but untouched by stress. Such delight, yet so fleeting. Sigh.
So here I am, like one of these nicely balanced log-surfing birds, lining up my gulls in a row for the coming autumn, placing concerts and residencies and speaking gigs and meetings and travel travel travel indications in my calendar’s little white boxes, and wishing I were a lot farther down my naively giddy June list of “things to accomplish in this faaaaabulous gaping block of time I have in my studio this summer” than I actually am. Notes have somehow sneaked onto the page without me looking, but oh, if only I owned that clock! I’d use it. Maybe you would, too.
Well, at least I can go to the freezer for some ice cream. It’s Wednesday!
I’ll take two scoops of the chocolate herring flavor, please.
Paul Muller said,
August 31, 2011 @ 3:43 pm
Hang on – the summer solstice occurs on Sept 21, so there are at least 3 more weeks of summer – astronomically…. Are you going back to school or something?
And as you well remember, here in SoCal our hottest month is usually September…
We’re just getting warmed up in Ventura…
Paul Muller said,
August 31, 2011 @ 3:44 pm
Damn. Just noticed I’m out of chocolate herring ice cream…
Alex Shapiro said,
August 31, 2011 @ 3:52 pm
Yeah, but the very sound of the word “September” indicates the end of summer!!
Glenn Buttkus said,
August 31, 2011 @ 4:15 pm
Up there in the islands, summer starts in May; even has some of the hottest weather. Yes, it may be conditioning, but September does not “sound” like summer, even though sometimes the Indian Summer is nicer than the actual one proceeding. If you were queen, you would have to buy more funny hats, and wearing frumpy baggy fashions, would have to learn to turn your nose up and sqinsch up your eyes, would need a royal yacht, and a battlement around your residence, with a moat, filled with hybrid killer salmon, have a sea chariot bulled by two orcas, teach the sea gulls to march in step past your window, hunt down and bitch slap hummingbirds that are too rude to visit or genuflect, buy several large British cars, and hire me to drive them for you; which sounds like a lot of damned work. In the world of Rowling you would be a white witch or a wizard, who wrestled with Time constantly, who has several pet dragons to take her on long flights. As to ice cream today, make mine strawberry rhubarb with orange marmalade sauce, peanuts, and mounds of real whip cream please.
Alex Shapiro said,
August 31, 2011 @ 4:36 pm
All sung to the theme of “Camelot”! And if the orcas are just too busy to pull my sea chariot, or the dragons unwilling to fly in the marine layer, Glenn, I’ll be happy to hire you! Endless ice cream to your exact specifications awaits.