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 
I’m with you–summer just isn’t what it used to be. Autumn is becoming my favorite season, when the sun isn’t blazing but it still makes the world look beautiful.
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A definite thumbs-up to autumn. It’s a lot more comfortable than summer.
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Hi Neil, Good hearing. I always enjoy reading your posts. Living in Spain as I do, I can sympathize re the heat in summer – though this one (mostly high 30 o’s) takes the biscuit. ‘Global warming’ is blamed and it is certainly as humid as hell… No air con, but two powerful fans do help indoors. We haven’t been out much, although we live near the Med. and bless the sea breezes, and late afternoon on our patio it is heaven for a while. I walk around the pool and do a few, mild, exercises, but my once very active (yoga,pilates, Thai Chi and dancing) legs now protest. Still, I’ve learned to ‘Smile with one eye while the other weeps,’ at past youth pursuits and lost family members and friends…Luckily, I have a wonderful husband and three, worthy sons and friends, recovered from cancer years ago (and hubby) so certainly can’t complain. With the added joys of music, books and writing too, I am surely rich! All the best. Take care. Cheers! x
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Hi, Joy. Always good to hear from you. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I like your attitude!
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Summer is a favourite season of mine but I have to agree that I just don’t handle the heat as well as I used to. The high today was 34C (93F) and we had some forest fire smoke as well. Oldies and kids were advised to stay inside. Nasty. The mall is certainly an exercising alternative. Good post, Neil.
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In many parts of the globe, forest fires have become much more common than they used to be, as we know. Climate change is upon us.
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As I wrote the Ode To Autumn, you could imagine that I love the season of baking potatoes in the field while digging them to help the farmers, as my school did. Still, it is Spring that I love, although do you remember the famous words, “Summertime and the living is easy”?!
Thank you, Neil, for your funny, as usual, post!
Joanna
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Hi Joanna. When you were helping farmers, where was that? In England?
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No, it was in Poland, where I hail from. If you have a chance, Neil, please look up my post” “Ode to Autum” as it was very popular.
Joanna
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You write about eating roasted potatoes in Ode To Autumn. It’s a real good essay.
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Thank you, Neil, I can still remember the wonderful taste of freshly baked potatoes, hot and with butter and salt! Happy days!
In England, I grow my own new potatoes.
Joanna
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Good morning, Neil, from an overcast southeast Ireland where the temperature at the moment is 14C with a predicted high of 17C this afternoon. The month of June here was very hot (highest recorded temperature of 28.8C) and was certainly tough going with some days of exhaustion and dehydration because of my own carelessness. What I miss most of all is swimming in the sea, a daily activity for many, many years but one which we have allowed slip since the children have grown up. Re your trips to the mall: that would so torture those few remaining braincells which govern patience and forbearance as to leave me a totally raging lunatic – and I couldn’t even blame sunstroke for it.
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Paddy, you wouldn’t believe the number of stores, strip malls, big malls, etc. in my general area. It’s incredible how built up my area is.
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If I go out the back door – which is at the side of the house to be accurate, I can see our neighbour’s house if I walk around the garage. There is no other building in view from the house. Nearest shop – about two miles away.
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I have a big bridge though!
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https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Cois+Abhainn,+Gracedieu+Lower,+Co.+Waterford/@52.275849,-7.1530873,16.8z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x4842c5b598a95e25:0xe47a3618d3551f84!8m2!3d52.2759233!4d-7.1505265!16s%2Fg%2F119w64wc3?entry=ttu
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We’re on the same page regarding summertime. This year has really been a corker everywhere. I salute Willis Carrier’s invention every day during the hot months.
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If he isn’t already on a US postage stamp, he should be.
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I checked the Wikipedia article on stamp honorees and did not see Carrier’s name. He certainly belongs on a postage stamp.
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Oh, how I loved playing tennis in 100-degree weather in my youth. Now my advancing age, along with the fact that I live in San Francisco (where summertime is simply a mass of fog), have combined to make me intolerant of any temperature above 75 degrees! Good for you for being diligent about your exercise, Neil.
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I’m not as diligent as I was a couple of years ago. You’ve reminded me that I need to raise the ol’ heart rate today. i guess I’ll go for a walk this afternoon. My neighborhood is surprisingly hilly, so walking up and down certain streets is pretty good exercise. (Not as hilly as your city, of course,)
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This should be our rainy season, but apart from a few thunderstorms it has just been hot and stuffy. The dogs have occupied the coolest parts of the house and we make do with the rest.
Not a fan of online shopping…..I like to see what I am buying….but it has certainly taken off and hit little businesses badly.
Thanks for the music…..took me back years.
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What, the dogs won’t share the coolest parts of the house with you and your husband??!!
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Summer in Maine—and the rest of the country—has gotten so much harsher than it was when I was young. And I have read that the heat is only going to get worse. I wonder if malls, once temples of capitalism, will become places where people can exercise without worrying about the heat. Did you notice other folks walking for exercise?
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Yeah, mall-walking around here has been a thing for years for a fair number of people,
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A great song. Thanks, Jerry.
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That’s a great video! They are having such a good time.
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Ah, those youthful summers … transistor radios, beaches and baby oil, seasonal friendships … a few lifetimes ago.
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I’d like to have a transistor radio these days. They were cool.
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You have to teach me how to belch harmonically!
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It took me years and years to master the technique. It’s not easy!
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I haven’t liked summer since burning my feet on San Fernando Valley concrete in 1959. (It was bad even then.)
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Ouch!
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I’ve never been a fan of summer – as a child I either spent it on grueling backpacking trips with my father or constant practice on swim team! I did like visiting my grandparent’s small town and being able to wander free. September and October are our hottest months out here! Thankfully the days are shorter! Yes, malls are depressing. But there’s air conditioning!
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I’d hate to see the electricity bills for the mall near me. It’s huge and enclosed and air-conditioned. The bill might be $50,000 for each of the hot-weather months. Maybe more than that.
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great post – thanks !!
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Elders used to be a small part of mall traffic. Now, they’re the raison d’etre. Luckily, our local mall is pretty busy though not sure why.
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The mall near me never seems too crowded. There’s another huge mall about ten miles from my house — my wife goes there once in a while and says that there’s almost no shoppers in it.
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I hear what you’re saying… yeah, those transistor radio days of youth are long gone, “Hot Days…,” “Summertime” & the like that filled the air are shrouded by the current climate change & political crisis. Wild nature is my last resort &, hopefully, we can save some of what remains of it. Those struggling malls just don’t do it for me, though I sympathize with small businesses.
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You know, a friend of mine sits on his porch, listening to Phillies baseball games on a transistor radio. I’ll have to ask him if it’s an old radio. Maybe it isn’t — maybe it’s still possible to buy transistor radios.
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A good song can evoke memories for me faster than anything else, and this one does the job. I’m reminded of some of those same days of laying out covered in oil and hoping to look like a Coppertone model to no avail. I’ve always been one to just burn and peel, and two years ago had to have a serious skin cancer removed. I was an adult before I ever heard of sunscreen. By the way, I enjoy mall walking too, but, sadly, they soon may be a thing of the past. I really enjoyed this post!
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Hello there. Thanks for adding your thoughts. I too never heard of sunscreen till I was an adult. I probably was in my 30s or 40s when I learned about it. As for malls, the handwriting sure seems to be on the wall for them.
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No, this summer has not been coo!
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Summer kind of sucks!
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I’d send you some of our cool, foggy summer San Francisco days – – but then you’d need to send them back when the heat wave hits us in September. Sigh. Hang in there with the mall-walking!
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Speaking of San Francisco: I was sad to read that the Anchor brewery went out of business. But then I heard that somebody might buy it and bring it back to life — I hope this happens.
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There was a time when I also enjoyed the summer heat. Not anymore. I’ve also discovered that the mall is a great getaway for raising the heart rate without melting like ice cream 😀
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I feel guilty when I’m walking in my local mall, because I almost never buy anything there.
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I support the bookstore in our mall.
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We had summer about two months ago! Now it’s cooler which I like better.
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Cool temps are refreshing. But not cold temps (I’m not a big fan of winter).
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I fall in the category of formerly loving summer and now dread it. We even had a conversation last night about possibly moving north if this continues. Which we’ve never talked about before. But it’s dreadful here in Texas.
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It’s often just crazy-hot in Texas. Many days over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
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I grew up in DFW where we had many days over 100 but it was dry and it did cool off at night. Now? it’s different and here in Houston it was very uncommon to have it over 100 and instead we’re packing the days in and adding humidity on top of it. It’s unbearable.
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I went mall walking today because it is 103 F. My favorite season is Fall, too, and right now 90 F would feel cool.
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103 F is ridiculous. Way, way too hot!
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Yeah, it is…🥵
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I agree with you on the autumn season, but summer still has its charms for me…..albeit, not on a blazing hot day.
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I’d like to say that I find summer charming in various ways, but I can’t. Maybe I would if I lived near a lake in a forested area.
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I’m not a fan of the heat either, Neil. Luckily, we usually don’t have any more than two weeks of uncomfortable and humid temps here in Newfoundland.
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Do you get extreme weather of any sort? — bad storms, tornadoes, etc.?
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I don’t know of any tornadoes but we have had hurricanes. Last September the west coast received a lot of damage from Hurricane Fiona.
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Love the heat and sun, and this summer has been rainy here, so that’s not great for me. This past weekend was perfect, but I was in isolations from Covid. The summer is much too short here, so we never complain, knowing what’s just around the corner! Love Sly and Family Stone!
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In collaboration with someone, Sly has written a memoir. It will be published pretty soon, I think. He was a wildman. I hope he’s settled down and is okay.
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It’s been a hot summer but cooler days are ahead!
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Autumn!
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Not a fan of hot searing sun either and we have down here an issue with holes in the ozone layer making our sun rather lethal. Though I dislike Malls even more. When exercise is required they do I suppose have a purpose. In summer, I usually get up very early to do a long walk around the estuary.
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Hi Suzanne. Walks in the early morning are a good idea. Or a bit before sunset. Either way, the blazing sun isn’t part of the equation.
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“Belching harmonically and twirling the five strands of hair…” It’s not often I truly “lol”. I’m enjoying my morning coffee as the winter sun makes inroads on our -2°C frost and thinking a little bit of your summer heat would be quite nice right now 😊
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I’m going to try to send some summer heat in your direction. Wish me luck!
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I spent too many summers rollicking in the sun, Neil, hence the blotches and bumps I’m suffering now as the skin cancer lotion takes effect —
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Years ago, the general public wasn’t aware of the damage the sun can do.
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What a fun song, Neil. Maybe it’s a reminder that there are some good things about summer which we should celebrate.
And don’t undervalue your accomplishments: belching and twirling hair simultaneously is a rare skill. 😊
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Thank you for recognizing my unusual talent!
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You are welcome. 😊
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Sorry to hear how summer has lost its glimmer for you–and apparently many of your other readers. I still love it–tank tops, flip flops. To sit out on my deck at midnight without the need for a jacket or sweater. But it is sad that climate change has made it unbearable, even deadly, for so many places in the world. The mid- to high 80s weather in my corner of the Northeast is fine with me, What breaks my heart is that this past July, like the July three years back was rain, rain, rain. We didn’t suffer as Vermont did with flooding, but it too often prevented enjoying my favorite summer pastimes, like going to Tanglewood or eating out on our deck. I will always love the summer months. As Nat King Cole sang (on my little transistor radio many moons ago): “Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer…”
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Hi Amy. I’m not happy that summer and I don’t get along too well anymore. I’m glad that you still are a summer person — this shows your youthful spirit! I remember being at Tanglewood in the 1970s. I saw the Souther/Hillman/Furay band, and also Steeleye Span. They were on the same bill.
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I got there in the 80s when I moved east. At night, on the lawn, when everyone’s got their candles lit and the stars are out and there’s music–it just doesn’t get better than that.
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Hot summers in Texas are standard operating procedure; I worked right throught the 1993 and 2011 droughts, and this year, while certainly not pleasant, hasn’t been as bad as those were. I confess to being far more fond of spring and autumn than summer, but it’s because those are seasons of continual change. Summer drags on here the same way winter drags on for people in northern states. By the time September rolls around, we’re muttering like Minnesotans in March: make it (the heat or the cold) stop already!
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One thing for sure is that I’m enjoying the early morning right now here in southeastern PA. A cool breeze is coming through the windows, I’m sipping at a cup of coffee, and in a few minutes I’ll tackle a sudoku puzzle. Life’s simple pleasures often/usually are where it’s at.
Many thanks for adding your thoughts. I always enjoy finding out what your perspectives are.
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Sad about the mall. Nice photos and good song!
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A large arcade has been built where the JC Penney store used to be at the mall. Maybe it will be popular. I hope so.
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I will have to check it out..thanks !
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We don’t get temperatures like yours – yet, but they may be on their way. I suffer easily with sun damage, therefore I keep out of the worst of it.
Thanks for visiting my blog and having the grace to explain who you are via blog site.
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Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.
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Another good one. Thanks.
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Yeah, I’m finding the heat–and its buddy, the humidity–kinda saps my energy at this point. I’m just thinking back to growing up near the ocean in Long Island, New York, where the breezes were wonderful and the water in August just warm enough to bear.
Worrisome trend for retailers. It is sad to see.
Thanks for the song. I got up and marched to it and added a few more of my requisite steps for today.
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I grew up on Long Island too. In Roslyn. Which town were you in?
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Long Beach. Halfway between the ocean and the bay, which both got scarily close during hurricanes. I can’t imagine what it’s like now.
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I know many people are not fans of the summer especially as we get older but I have to say on this I can’t really relate 😂 My best memory is still last summers 40C humid gulf summer, swimming in the sea and then eating vanilla ice cream on a beach blanket… I wonder if partly its genetics too- our different DNAs maybe just make us more predisposed to certain types of climates! Am sorry the summer sun is not giving you joy Neil and in a few weeks hopefully temperatures will cool down ☺️ lovely song!!
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Hello there. I bet you’re right about genetics. Still, I liked summer when I was younger. I think that when people get pretty old, many of them become less tolerant of heat and sun. And I’m pretty old.
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Ah Yes, the “dog-days of summer,” when dogs and people can be driven mad by extreme heat! Feeling like a caged animal myself I wanted to shake the blues: Just this afternoon, here in the Sunshine State: “Hey Google, what’s the current temperature?,” I asked before deciding whether to hobble on out of a short walk. The reply: It’s 95 degrees but due to the current humidity it feels like 112.” Okey-Dokey, then…plan B…Netflix! Fortunately, this too shall pass. Soon enough folks in your neck-of-the-woods will be shoveling snow and I’ll be looking forward to the two days of the year I can wear my Uggs! And yes, it’s a shame about the malls. I try my darnedest to shop local (even get my books at Barnes & Noble) instead of Amazon…etc.
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Hi there. 95 degrees F is no fun at all. Speaking of Netflix: We’re watching Rough Diamonds now. Have you seen it? It’s pretty good.
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I agree with you 100% about summer heat. I feel it draining the energy right out of me. I love the song you mentioned, even if I don’t agree with its sentiment.
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Bring on autumn!
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Whoo-hoo! It’s my favorite season.
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I must be on the opposite side of the equation to Dave, love the warmth of the summer, hate the cold and the winter. All the best
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Hi Steve. I’m no fan of winter either, that’s for sure. By the way — you mention “Dave”. Who are you referring to? Take care.
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Sorry, Dave must be my other follower! 😀
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On the flip side, we have had a very mild Winter! I haven’t even had the heater on the past few weeks. I wonder what the climate change deniers say about that!? Stay cool…in every sense of the word, Mel
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You know, the most recent winter here (in southeastern Pennsylvania) was pretty mild too. Climate change is happening right before our eyes.
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Definitely. We have had tonnes of coverage of poor Hawaii’s wild fires. Just so frightening and sad.
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We should have shorter seasons. A hot week, a cold week, a wet one and a dry one, and so on. It’s asking too much of us to put up with 3 months of anything!
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You are a creative thinker!
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I try to love summer but the best I can do is endure it fondly. I enjoy autumn the most. But summer is what we need to get through to autumn so I do my best to not complain [too much] about the heat and humidity.
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I love your phrase “endure it fondly.”
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You anticipated my question as soon as you mentioned going to the mall to walk. I was wondering how busy yours is. We sometimes visit one up the road in Jacksonville, and it’s probably in great shape compared to most these days. There are relatively few vacant stores there. But I know nationally they’ve become half-to-three quarter empty. I’m not a huge fan of summer anymore either. – Marty
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Afternoon, Marty. One store that’s always busy at the mall near me is the Apple store. I’ve been there myself a couple of times (I have an iPhone).
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Your summer nostalgia for those lazy days of youth takes me right back to my own. I love Sly and the Family Stone, but I’ve been listening to a lot of reggae recently, which takes me back to the summer of 1976, when the UK experienced an extensive heatwave. It coincided with a cricket tour by a young West Indies team featuring a quartet of athletic and devastatingly fast bowlers. It was the most exciting spectacle I’d seen on cricket field so any patriotic loyalty to an aging England team quickly evaporated in the heat.
The prolonged sunshine softened stiff and stuffy English attitudes. Everyone seemed more laid back, and Bob Marley and punk were both in their ascendancy. And I spent long days inside glued to the television watching the cricket. Happy days!
You would probably enjoy our current English summer. It started in June then went missing in action. It was glimpsed briefly yesterday but has gone into hiding again today.
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Thanks for the remembrances, George. You know, while surfing the internet a day or two ago, I saw an article about cricket. Now, I know virtually nothing about cricket. I don’t know the rules or anything else about it. What I was surprised to read is that cricket is the second most popular sport in the world. For whatever reasons, it never has caught on here in the USA. Take care. Have a good day!
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A melanoma 12 years ago unfortunately meant my relationship with the summer sun had to change. I wouldn’t do without it though – although I might if we reached high 20s temperatures regularly here in Scotland.
I remember the summer of 1976, and the Test series George mentions, well – although I’d say the England Australia series we’ve just had is even better (albeit played in lower temperatures). Cricket’s a strange game to half of the world, but has proved to be one of the few benefits of British colonialism to places like India and the West Indies.
Keep on rocking, and seeking the shade, Neil!
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Greetings! There is some amount of interest in cricket in my region, as a bit of googling showed me. Here’s a website I found:
http://www.cricketfestival.com/
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Fantastic! I suspect there’s only really room for one sport where someone throws a ball for someone else to hit with a bit of wood – and you guys have baseball!
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I remember how humid summers were when I lived near Philly. So opressive … although I did seem to somehow get used to it. Where I spend summers now, it’s almost embarassingly perfect. Upper 70’s / low 80’s every day, 50% humidity, puffy clouds, upper 50’s / low 60’s every night. But you would probably not want to spend winters here, under three feet of snow! I guess that’s the trade-off.
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Hi Jeff. Very snowy winters used to be the norm in my region. Last winter we had zero snow, though. But it won’t surprise me if the upcoming winter gives us anywhere between 18 and 36 inches of snow.
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