Summer has officially come to an end, but that doesn’t mean we have to say goodbye to the season just yet. It’s hold still lingers on, even throughout the coming of fall.
Just open your car door and feel the heat pour out, instantly covering your body in sweat. It’s hotter inside, much hotter than the cool autumn air. If you have leather seats, my heart goes out to you. Take a seat and feel the burn against your thighs and hands.
It’s still hot enough to swim without feeling every bone in your body freeze from the chill. The smell of chlorine is strong, especially for those unlucky enough to have to go to an indoor pool. It’s a powerful smell, burning your nostrils, but at least you can swim.
Those around you still walk about in flip flops when it’s not raining, maybe even when it is. There’s no risk of toes getting frostbite or just stiff from the cold. In fact, pair that with shorts and a tank top, even with the chilly air conditioning, and there’s a chance you might stay cool.
Those sensitive to the light still need to be careful. They slather the white, smelly joy of sunscreen on their bodies so they can get that nice, golden tan without fear of turning into a red, hot, crispy critter, turning every movement into incinerating pain.
There’s still time to savor the sweet taste of ice cream or snow cones without feeling out-of-season, as cold foods in cold times are far less than desirable. The snow cone stands are selling as much as they can for the few remaining days of summer. Might as well make money before they have to close shop for a year.
On weekends off, families take the time to gather in the backyard around a nice, fiery grill. The meaty, savory scent of cooking burgers and hotdogs wafts around the yard, making stomachs grumble eagerly and mouths begin to salivate.
At evening and night, the cicadas cry loudly, mixing with the humming strings of the other bugs, like some strange, awful orchestra. Heaven forbid the grasshoppers join in on the medley as well, or else you risk them hopping about around you or, even worse, inside your clothes.
In fact, as autumn takes hold, more and more of those grasshoppers make their way out of the pits of Hell. They’re in the grass, on the sidewalks and even haunting your favorite ice cream stores. They’re everywhere – just one of the horrors of the end of the season. The chill, another horror, will follow soon after.
Even with the irritations of school, purchasing new books and leaving the sweet freedom of summer behind, the joys of summer still hold on. The season may be coming to an end, but the memories will remain even as fall takes hold.