And the radio man says...

Copyright Ian Shane

16 August 2009

Night Swimming

Originally posted on the Indianapolis Star Blog "Tales of a Hoosier Ex-Pat"

When you're a kid, there are certain benchmarks that define the year. For me, the summer always had an ebb and flow with some major annual events.

Memorial Day Weekend – Indy 500 and the unofficial start of summer
Last Week of June – Thunder on the Ohio
Fourth of July – Midpoint of summer
Last week of July/First Week of August – Family Vacation
August 17 – My Birthday
Labor Day Weekend – Frog Follies and the unofficial end of summer

As I have gotten older and moved away from Indiana, Thunder and the Follies have become more of a nostalgic concept rather than a seasonal marking of time, and I haven't had a full family vacation since 1987. However, I still view my birthday as the white flag for summertime. This summer was a lot like watching Casino, I sat around and waited for it to start and then it was over. Don't get me wrong. In my old age, and living in an apartment that lacks air conditioning, I'm not overjoyed by sweltering days with 1000% humidity. I'm not really ready to let go of this summer. Not just yet. I really like the fall, but I can put it on hold for a little bit. It's not like my 35th year was not all roses. D and I had to push back the wedding again, and I became victim 3, 593, 293 of the economy. I really need a fresh start to a new year.

Since I first got Automatic for the People, I have always equated the song "Night Swimming" to my birthday. It's a sentimental song about the end of an era. The song, and the day never used to hit me that hard until about 4 years ago.

There are many things that I am going to miss. I'm going to miss riding my bike in decent weather. I'm going to miss the smell of sun screen. I'm going to miss trying to figure out when the Cubs are going to blow it again. I'm going to miss not hearing from the blowhards in this state go on and on about the stinkin' Vikings. The unbelievable feeling of drinking a cold glass of water will be lost soon, and I'm going to deal with space heaters and frozen cars.

Now, my major events run like this.

October 15 – The average date of the first day of snow
May 3rd – The latest day of snow in my 7 years in Minnesota
June 1st – The first of a maximum of 115 days where doing something outside doesn't suck

As REM said in that song "September's coming soon." Happy Birthday to me.

1 comment:

kevbayer said...

Happy B-day Bud!