I love summer

I love summertime. I know I am not alone, because summer is a very popular season. It is the time of plenty, the time when food is abundant. I would invoke our primal past and say that summer reminds us of times when we did not have to fear starvation or death from freezing. But that's unnecessary, because summer is still fantastic. Summer is still the time when we play.

True, life does not stop, work must still be done and danger is far from absent. Here in Florida we have hurricanes, for one thing, and a seemingly endless drought condition that makes wildfires a constant worry. Also, since this is Florida, the summer is when the heat becomes almost unbearable. During the "Autumn," "Winter" and "Spring" months, the temperature relaxes and we can play comfortably outside. Now, for example, it is May, which is really spring. It won't be summer for another month and a half. Temperatures are supposed to be in the mid-nineties today. I'd blame global warming, but I doubt if that is really the issue. The issue is that this is Florida.

And I love it! I love the heat! I can't wait until June, July and August, when the air really heats up. I love everything about the summer. I love the smell of tar from freshly paved parking lots, chlorine from pools, sunscreen, pina coladas, margaritas and cold plums that drip all over your chin and fingers when you eat them. I love the beach, although I rarely ever go. I love warm mornings and warm evenings. Although it is uncomfortable, there is something wonderful about it.

For a long time, I felt like a fool for living in Florida all of my life. Some people get up and see the world, they move all around, living the Bohemian life. I admire that. And I still see the value of moving and travel and seeing the world. I do regret that I have not had (or taken) those opportunities. And yet, for the past few years, I find that I don't even want to move. Sure, I would love to live in a place with more culture than Orlando has to offer. I would love to live in San Francisco or Seattle or New York. But at the same time, I would miss Florida.

So I am happy to be here. I think I'd like to move eventually, perhaps find a place in Florida that does actually appreciate art and culture, but for now, I am perfectly content to live in the Sunshine State.

I just need to get the AC in my car fixed.