Thursday, August 30, 2018

August Closes The Door On Summer





Here is comes, the end of August, and with it the end of our lazy summer days. Mixed with feelings of excitement and dread, kids are returning to school ready to share their summer adventures with their friends and classmates.

Grownups have to remember what day of the week it is once again and start setting their alarms clocks as they get back to their routines. It’s time to wake those children up and hustle them off to school. There is the rush hour morning traffic to work and the drive home to pick up the children at school. It’s time to get the kids to do their homework while preparing dinner and then off again to all those after school activities.

Though the heat of summer will remain for a while, our summertime is coming to a close. We have to reset our schedules, our activities, and our emotional interiors for the coming autumn. Soon, this summer will just live in our memories.

Personally, as much as I do not like winter (sorry Santa), I am looking forward to autumn. I’ve had enough crazy weather—the extreme heat, floods for some and fires for others, hurricanes, and tornadoes. I’m ready for that high atmospheric pressure and cool air that seems to motivate us to get moving again. Autumn is my favorite season. Theirs is nothing so beautiful as a forest dressed in colorful leaves, especially in the mountains. Hot tea or cocoa by the fireside with a good book—there’s nothing better except maybe the state fair.

Anyway, it’s been fun, August, but I’m ready for the next chapter.

What is the thing you think you’ll remember most about this summer? Are you looking forward to autumn, or are you already missing summer?


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Monday, August 20, 2018

BLUE LAWS





Some of you may be familiar with Blue Laws; and some of you may have never heard of them. Blue Laws were passed to keep people from working on Sundays or selling goods on Sundays, especially such items as alcoholic beverages in order to maintain religious standards. Blue Laws vary from state to state.

In my research of the life in Colonial America, I discovered just how strict some of these laws were, in particular the severity of the laws in New England. Here’s one that may astound you: A Blue Law on the books in New England in the mid-eighteenth century prohibited a man to kiss his wife on Sunday. 

I guess those lawmakers (men) thought it was work to kiss a woman and not pleasure after all. I have to wonder how well that law could have been upheld. Did the police invade homes and fields, and forests searching for couple who might be breaking the law? Can you imagine the outcry if such a law was enforced today? What about the invasion of privacy or the sanctity of marriage, or plain old freedom in the pursuit of happiness?

Postal clerks even today owe their Sundays off to the origination of Blue Laws. Not to grumble or anything, but nurses thought a Sunday off was a privilege...just sayin'. 



Here in the state of North Carolina the Blue Law prohibits the sale of alcohol from 2 AM and either 10AM or 12 PM on Sunday depending on county until 10 AM on Monday. 
Teddy Roosevelt

Gun hunting is prohibited on Sundays between 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM. I guess that allows worshippers the chance to get out of church before they start drinking or killing things.

Prohibition on Sundays still exists in 12 states due to Blue Laws: Alabama, Indiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Just so ya know, for those who enjoy road trips and alcohol, you can still drive to a bordering state to get some booze. Well, you probably already thought of it or did it I guess.

Is your state a Blue Law state? What is your opinion of the Blue Laws? Are you surprised that a state would allow revenue from alcohol sales to go to a neighboring state? Are you shocked that Blue Laws are still enforced in some states? If you were governor of a Blue Law state, would you try to repeal the Blue Law or would you work to keep it?

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Wednesday, August 01, 2018

Hello August!



August from a French Calendar

When I think of August, I can’t help but think about the weather. We’re certainly having plenty of that already across our nation right now with monsoons here in the east, tornadoes in the mid-west, and draughts in the west so severe the forests have become a tinderbox for fires. Hurricanes are revving up off the coast of Africa and will soon be on their way to the Caribbean and North American continent. We’ve already had a few that have decimated Puerto Rico and Haiti. So much for the carefree life living on an island. And it’s HOT!—just in case no one’s noticed. Since we have so much moisture here in the southeast and heat retains moisture, we have those hot, humid days when your only hope for comfort is to sit in front of an air conditioner and dream of autumn breezes and high pressure atmosphere to revive our lagging energy.

August is also the last month for kids to enjoy the freedom of no school. As a kid I liked being able to stay up late and laze around reading and day dreaming. In my early childhood it was a great time for the neighborhood kids to get together and play and to go exploring in the woods. We built teepees beside the creek and waded around in the water to get cool. We built dams out of sticks and rocks to make the water deeper so we could luxuriate sitting in it. In my teen years after we got a TV, I liked to watch the late show with those old black and white movies from the 1930’s and 40’s. I loved the satin dresses and how men wore suits and fedoras. I loved Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire in those big musical productions. I also liked the late hours of the night to write when my creative juices were freely flowing.

The family spent a great many meals either in the dining room with all the windows open or outside where the oppressive heat of the kitchen was dispelled to a degree by an occasional breeze. August is a mélange of good times and extreme weather mixed with the joy of freedom and the wicked pleasure of indolence.

What memories do you hold dear from the month of August? Was it your favorite month or your least favorite month of the year? Were you beginning to look forward to going back to school or dreading it? What was the activity you liked best in August?

 
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