Ah, my mind is drifting back to the carefree days of my youth, ages ago, when I embraced the summer season, thinking nothing of being outside in the sun for hours on end. What was there not to like? Playing baseball, basketball, volleyball, golf, and tennis sure as hell was very alright with me. As were any number of other outdoor activities, including a passive yet major one. Namely, lying on beaches and in the backyard of the house I grew up in. There, while listening to music on my transistor radio, I’d soak up the sun’s vibrant rays in hopes that the suntan lotion I’d slathered all over my body would help my innately pale skin shift to a handsome shade of bronze.
Well, a bronze god I never became. Or a god of any sort, for that matter. Shit! But, despite that disappointment, I had plenty of fun, fun, fun in the summertime.
That’s no longer the case. Nope, I haven’t been a fan of summer for quite a few years. The heat doesn’t agree with me. Nor does a maniacally sneering sun. Thus, when the temperature is above 80°F (27°C) and the sun is unblocked by clouds, which is the scenario on the majority of summer days, I’m not in a rush to mow the lawn, go for a cardio walk in my steeply hilled neighborhood, or engage in any other semi-strenuous activity. When those meteorological conditions are in play, I’d rather spend my time productively indoors — belching harmonically, for example, as I twirl the five strands of hair remaining on the crown of my head.
Nevertheless, a boy needs his exercise. Which is why, on a recent morning, when it already was hot enough at 10:00 AM to fry an egg on the sidewalk, I jumped into my car and drove to the enclosed, three-story mall less than a mile from my home. I spent 40 minutes there, striding purposefully along its avenues and raising my heart rate in the process.
What was true even before the COVID pandemic arrived is far truer now in the wake of that siege. Meaning, the mall is struggling. I saw any number of vacancies. And a bunch of shops, still in business apparently, had decided not to open that day. Except for food stores, pharmacies and a few other commercial businesses, how does any retail establishment, pretty much anywhere, compete with online shopping anymore? I don’t know. It’s a troubling situation. Many jobs are at stake.
Still, I enjoyed the walk, looking, as I was, for store-window posters that idealized the joys of summer. I found a few that did precisely that. They almost made me think that fun in the summer sun could still be a significant part of my life. Then I returned to reality. I mean, all of the models in the posters were under age 25, a time in life when summer heat doesn’t make you melt like ice cream, and the sun wants only to bless you. I don’t fit into that picture.
Heat-wise, more likely than not, the worst will have passed by late September. Autumn, my favorite time of year, should be in first gear by then, starting to bestow its charms and cooler temperatures upon my part of the globe (southeastern Pennsylvania, USA). I damn well am looking forward to those developments.
Yes, I’ll be happy to wave goodbye to summer. But, on the other hand, I don’t want to get on summer’s wrong side, considering that its normal side is just about too much for me. That’s why I’m going to try and appease the blazing season by ending this essay with one of the best summer songs ever: Hot Fun In The Summertime, by Sly And The Family Stone. It came out in 1969 and sounds as good today as it did then. Maybe better. What grit, what cool, what joyfulness and power! Summer kind of sucks, but this recording doesn’t.
Yeah, Another Blogger 
Haha It has been waaaay too hot to walk outside, Neil! So, I’m glad you chose the mall, but I do agree. I’m not sure how any brick & mortar places are surviving. Even when I try to buy something at a mall, they tell me to look for it online.
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Amazon, Wayfair and others have conquered the world.
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You’re right. I tried so hard not to use Amazon, but then we had a pandemic, and it was all downhill from there. LOVE Wayfair, too lol
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I hope the weather cools down for you soon! Here, in the Greater Seattle Area, we have a heat warning–for 80-degree days. I have to laugh because it’s much hotter in other parts of the US at this moment.
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I was in Seattle about 25 years ago. Nice city. Took a tour of Redhook brewery —- Are they still in business?
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I am happy to see all of the company I have here, as I could do without summer completely.
Also, how did I get this old not knowing it was Sly & The Family Stone who did that great song?
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Have you seen the documentary Summer Of Soul? It’s about concerts in a Harlem park in 1969. Great performances, including those by Sly And The Family Stone.
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Here in England, Summer hasn’t even started! Apart from a few very warm and sunny days in June, it has been cool, grey and rainy! Still, I emphasise it being too hot to enjoy the outside. Haha! The summers of youth are always recalled fondly – mine mostly involve water, swimming, dinghies, on boats.
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Hi Annika. Yeah, we were more resilient in our younger days. Hot weather and blazing sunshine didn’t bother us!
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So true! The year after we moved to the U.K. when I was a child was the infamous heatwave summer of 1976! The reservoirs were nearly dry, stand-pipes at the ready to give us water, I remember my mother being very worried. As for me I thought I was in heaven – the best summer and lived out doors nearly all the time! 😀
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Neil! I laughed out loud out the harmonic belching and hair twirling! 😂😂😂 Never fear. The beauty of living in a 4-season state is that there’s always the next one around the corner. 😘
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Right — autumn isn’t too far away. Thank goodness!
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My Favorite season. 🍃 🍁
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Oh, the good ‘ole days. Where we soaked in the sun and were devoid of worry about skin cancer. Ugh. Sorry–bit of a downer–but am going through my first round of chemotherapy cream as a preventative measure for skin cancer. It burns your face but only the parts that are sun-damaged, causing pre-cancerous cells to come to the surface and die. I look awful but after one more round in a month or two, I should be done for about three years. But I’ll be wearing a hat and a LOT Of sunscreen in the interim. Here’s to the ice cream, eh? And the leisurely summer evening strolls. All of it lovely.
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Sorry to hear about your skin situation. Yeah, years ago many of us put on lots of Coppertone lotion and baby oil — they intensified the sun’s rays. It was the opposite of what we should have been doing. Nobody knew better back then.
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Right?! I remember wanting a tan more than anything and like you, I didn’t tan very well :-).
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This has been a brutal summer for much of the world. Incessant heat or incessant rain. We have about 8 months of rain here in the “rain” forest, Neil, so I’m always happy when summer rolls around. But I like it best in the shade. And an interesting point about the mall. I think Covid changed a lot of our habits permanently. That said, there’s nothing quite like trying on clothes in person, especially when you’re a hobbit, like me.
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Right, the pandemic altered things a whole, whole lot. So many people work from home now, at least part of the time. That’s a huge societal change.
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We haven’t resumed out old social life, Neil, and the rise in random gun violence doesn’t help either. But that’s a whole other topic.
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Im a summer guy fella. Just the the way im built. So many good summer tunes. I like when you throw in ones that grab ya. Keep the sand out of the Coppertone buddy.
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You rock, no matter what season it is!
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A nice honest reflection.
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Hi AOC. Yeah, summer and me don’t get along too well anymore.
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Sorry that I’m late to the summer bashing party…! 🤣 I love how you came around and made it a blast after all with that song. I hope the temps cool some so that you can enjoy walking out in the sun – we need our Vitamin D before the Fall and Winter bless us with extra cool reasons to stay in the house! Good for you in finding a place to keep walking, maybe you’ll be a trendsetter and more people will go to join you, and the stores will get more customers and revive the mall? One can hope, right? 🤔😉
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Hello there. Summer sure has inspired a LOT of great songs to be written. Summer Breeze and California Girls are two more of them. Thanks for stopping by. Have a good day!
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Yes, indeed, same to you!
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oh, Man! did this ever resonate. Of course, Autumn has long been my favorite season but Summer ran a close second – way, way, way back when. It has now sunk to last on my list. It’s just plain too damn hot and I certainly don’t need an additional reason to avoid a walk. Malls used to be great places to walk but the only indoor mall left in Raleigh, NC is Crabtree Valley Mall and it seems to be wheezing. Hot Fun in the Summertime – always makes me smile.
Fun read.
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Morning, Linda. Sly & The Family Stone were such a great band. Sly, unfortunately got really caught up in drugs and wild behavior. He has written a memoir, which is going to be published pretty soon.
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I agree. I was listening to them the first time I ever got high – college days- eons ago – but an unforgettable experience. So I have some particular fondness for the group. I am sorry that Sly went off the rails. I’m sure his book will be worth a read.
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I’m with you Neil. I used to be a summer guy, too. Now I prefer Fall and Spring.
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Hey there, Mark. Fall snd spring are where it’s at!
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What a great song to celebrate summer! And thank you for reminding me of those sweet endless summer days a few years back 😉 when endless made them even better. I’m with you, autumn is my favorite time of year and I’m so ready for it! Take care ☺️
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Hard to believe that that song came out over 50 years ago. Time truly flies!
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Thanks for sharing your posts Neil . We have high temperatures this month 25C m .We have fires in our area . Anita
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I’m sorry to hear about the forest fires near you. A terrible situation.
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Loved that song, hard not to dance! And of course there was “hot town, summer in the city…”, Lovin’ Spoonful, who I got to meet at a local dance TV show in Newark when I was in high school.
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You met The Lovin’ Spoonful — that’s definitely cool!
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I don’t like when it gets over 80 either, but I still do love summer and will miss it. I’m troubled too about the stores and how they are struggling.
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Howdy, Michele. Are you a beach person?
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I really am.
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Ha! This made me laugh because it’s hilarious and very relatable. I’ve spent all summer sweating and watching my country burn down, so sweater season can’t come soon enough!
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Hi. Summer is hanging around here in southeast Pennsylvania. A heat wave, starting today, is upon us. It’s predicted to last for five days
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The heat is relentlessly cruel this year. Take good care!
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Happy new season! Definitely a new drift shared Neil. Ahh and going back to those days can be revitalizing. 🤗 I find that Music is a great time-travel vehicle too..
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Music can transport us!
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“Hot Fun in the Summertime” is one of the ultimate summer songs, and I’m happily going to hum it all night. Thanks!
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Sly Stone is a big talent. Unfortunately, drugs and wild living brought him down. I’ve read that he has a memoir coming out pretty soon.
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