It Is So Hot . . .

So, how hot is it?

When the Texas heat brought scorching days and humid nights, my dad would fuss and fume about the heat shriveling his tomatoes or thwarting the growth of his crooknecked yellow squash. We heard, more than once, “It is so hot you can fry eggs on the sidewalk.”

I never understood how he knew that eggs would fry on the hot sidewalk, and how hot it needed to be. This week, when the thermometer reached 99 degrees, News Center Maine set out to prove or disprove this longstanding claim. No spoilers, but find the explanation here and impress your friends and family with some trivia.

Summer can bring the intolerable, but also a few seasonal perks. Think days splashing in a pool, the beach, or floating on an inner tube in a winding river, floating ice chest optional.

Watermelon and juicy peaches drip down your chin, burgers sizzle, and ice cubes tinkle in a glass of iced tea. June bugs buzz around the lighted porch, frogs croak while you take the last bite of ice cream before it melts into a pool of sticky sweetness.

Some people might reminisce and call these summer memories the “good ol’ days.” I prefer to think of them as simply good days.

The past does not have a monopoly on those moments of fond remembrance. I believe in our ability to find a little good in every day, and make the day a better one for someone else.

As the summer sun hovers, instead of reaching for eggs to fry, grab a cool beverage, travel through the pages of an enticing book, and definitely, make someone’s day brighter.

As for me, I’m gazing in awe at a summer sunset.

Swingin’ summer songs

“In summer, the song sings itself.”
—William Carlos Williams.

Vintage Summer Memories Playlist

Or pick from the 81 best songs of summer

Words to hold onto

“Summer, after all, is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people. For those few months, you’re not required to be who everyone thinks you are, and that cut-grass smell in the air and the chance to dive into the deep end of a pool give you a courage you don’t have the rest of the year. You can be grateful and easy, with no eyes on you, and no past. Summer just opens the door and lets you out.”
—Deb Caletti, Honey, Baby, Sweetheart

I always welcome your thoughts, so please leave a comment

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And always—

Be kind. Be brave. Be you.

Cover Photo: Summer Sunrise © Kathryn LeRoy