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Soapbox Philosophy: Signs of spring against summer backdrop leads to ...
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Op-Ed · July 17, 2014
Hey, kids — perhaps you can help me figure this out. I’ve got this hunch that something is going on.
I can’t quite put my finger on it.
But I’ve come up with some seemingly random bits of observations that may help us get to the bottom of it.
Let’s work our way through:
• First off, the heavy rain from this past weekend. This was the second heaviest storm since the spring. The first was just two weeks prior to this one, flooding downtown and seeping into several businesses, the police and fire department, and Town Hall. It was the worst flooding we’ve seen since 1993, I’ve been told.
• I’ve seen lots of mothers pushing baby strollers with two or three older children walking along with them. This is common when it warms up, but drops off when the heat gets really intense. I’m glad to see this simple yet wonderful addition going strong in our downtown and neighborhoods.
• I’ve seen handfuls of roughly middle-school aged children out riding bicycles, which is great because they are out getting fresh air and exercise. I just wish some of these folks would remember to wear their helmets.
• The regular seasons for baseball and softball are over, with the playoffs well under way.
• A couple of weeks ago, my youngest son, Keaton, 7, and I walked the grassy trails at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. We started near the beginning of the new permeable pavement pathway that leads up to the gravesite. We headed south toward Interstate 80 and walked all the way to the fence, walking around a couple of puddles along the way. We then went west to the far end of the 81-acre tallgrass prairie, then turned northward to walk within a block of Herbert Hoover Highway. We then turned east, around a couple more puddles, and through the woods back to the neatly mowed park property. We were amazed by the number and variety of birds, butterflies, rabbits and chipmunks. Many were brave enough to get close to us, close enough for a picture, even on a cell phone, though none close enough to touch.
• A couple of weeks before then, most of the family went on a bicycle ride up the Hoover Nature Trail. We took water bottles, but not as much for the heat as for the strong breeze that funneled through the trees into a strong headwind and caused one of our boys, whose bicycle does not have gears, to have to stop frequently for rest. Yet when we turned around at Oasis, the tailwind made pedaling easy, even at the highest gears, and we zoomed the couple miles back to West Branch. (By the way, who made all of those small birdhouses, painted in the colors and designs of football teams?)
• The mosquitoes and gnats seem worse this year. Gnats in particular. Typically, they grow strongest around Memorial Day then stay that way for a couple of weeks until the weather warms up and drives them away, or at least back into the cool, damp areas of town, like creeks and woods. And mosquitoes are finding their way into my car more than I recall in recent years.
• Last week we put out our 27th weekly edition of the year.
• On a recent drive to Tipton, I saw a deer run across Garfield Lane, so I hit the brakes, assuming another might be close behind. There was, but, surprisingly, this one did not chase after the first with the typical wild abandon. This one stood back, almost appearing pensive, watching the other deer across the road while I drove the van slowly between them.
• For summer, it seems cooler than past years. Outside of a few days where temperatures pushed close to 90 — I think the highest temperature I’ve seen so far is 88 — this summer seems more on the cool-to-comfortable side.
Last week, one of my co-workers raised the question of setting deadlines for a couple of our annual projects. One of them included … the Back To School section.
Not to worry, I thought. We don’t have to put out the Back To School section until it gets uncomfortably warm outside, where I’m glad to sit inside an air-conditioned office.
I glanced at the calendar.
Then it hit me.
The weather still seems like spring, but it doesn’t line up with the calendar. Summer is more than half gone. Remember that new high school principal, Shannon Bucknell, who wasn’t officially supposed to start his job until July 1? That was more than two weeks ago.
I’m going to have to crank out that Back To School edition a bit faster than in past years. School starts earlier than usual — Aug. 19 — because of how the calendar works out this year.
Registration begins Aug. 4.
Sorry, kids, but grown-ups are already getting ready to send you back to school. What I’d like to put my finger on now is a “pause” button, so I can get caught up.
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