The summer’s over,  long day’s have gone away,  No more picnics, Cold are winds here to stay
and put your lawn furniture all away.
When we played outside, enjoying every day, we thought summer would stay forever and a day. But summer’s over, it’s all over, my friend.
With apologies to Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Julie Styne. That nostalgic old song just about fits the mood that is coming and is only a short distance away. Autumn is the poets season for reflection and, it appears, we all look back at summer once it has passed. Having spent some time in Oklahoma I said that the cool days we were having back in August were going to turn into very hot days in September. It is nature’s way of trying to drive us all crazy as most people moan and groan and, yes, sweat a lot. One can hear, “Oh, if this heat were just OH-VUR!” Me? I am like, “Are you nuts? It is going to be cold soon.” Nosir, I do not prefer cold weather.
Here in the U.S. of A, we unofficially, in our own collective minds, think of Labor Day as the end of summer. Then, when summer ends most people anywhere look back and try to recapture the good times of that past season. Most people I know use summer to remember the good times of their childhood and the games, friends and growing up in their neighborhood. Summer never ends when one can keep it alive with good memories.  Personally, I think it is in our DNA to know that activities cease in the cold weather and snow. That is, unless you live in Sweden or Alaska.
One of our favorite trips was to Sweden in the winter. We flew out of Tulsa to Stockholm with a layover in Copenhagen. This has nothing to do with winter or summer, but in the Copenhagen airport terminal there was a complete breakfast laid out  for us early morning passengers. Muffins, boiled eggs, fruit of all kinds, yogurt of various kinds and on and on. Having been raised in the US of A where one has to pay for everything but breathing, this was a great way of saying, “Welcome stranger, we are happy to provide for travelers and please enjoy yourself while visiting.” As U S citizens, we looked around for someone to pay and finally remembered that hotels in Europe provide full breakfasts, This was part of the same custom of being gracious. Have you ever been to an airport in the USA very early in the morning? You could spend your grandkids inheritance on a coffee and a sweet roll. Sometimes there are places to get an actual food-type breakfast, but they are fairly rare. We thought about taking a second mortgage on our home once when we were returning from Ukraine and landed in NYC.  We lost our appetite going through customs.
But seeing what a real winter was like was very interesting and fun. Standing on a four foot snow pile to watch the changing of the guard at their palace did not diminish my like for summer. Other than some Russian books, I cannot think of any great literature that celebrates the dark, cold winter months. You will have to help me here and send me your selection(s). Other than Dr. Zhivago and War and Peace, that is. I know there are many more Russian novels but do they “celebrate” their winter.  I contrast those with Tom Sawyer, To Kill a Mockingbird or Gone With the Wind. Winter may have been in those books but was not dramatic.
As our year progresses, we look back at summer and, even those brutal summers we had recently, we think of what fun we had doing outdoor activities. YES, I know there are many winter activities some enjoy now that science’s progress in our clothing has almost caught up with the cold weather. On any given day you will not find as many people on the ski slopes on a given day as you will find at the beach or pool on a comparable summer day. Another thing about summer is that one can travel on the highway without too much worry. At present we worry about bridges collapsing or road surface pitting out. Congress is going to fix those problems just as soon as they get back from their 29 day vacation each month. In winter one must know ahead and know what highways are blocked and where the next blizzard will be.  I do not like to think of those things as I tool down a highway wondering which driver is texting and which one is angry at someone.
But all that aside, summer is for building memories.