COMMENTARY: August is the New September
Donnie Johnston: "Now, we start thinking fall the day August arrives."
By Donnie Johnston
COLUMNIST
Your mindset will change dramatically in the next two days.
Today and tomorrow will be summer, but Friday will be autumn.
You don’t believe me? Just wait.
It used to be that we didn’t undergo this mental season change until Labor Day. Now, as we push the seasons forward, we start thinking fall the day August arrives.
It has nothing to do with global warming or climate change, but rather our society’s increasing need to get to tomorrow before today is gone—our desire to rush ahead.
Our hectic lifestyle may have even affected the weather. Today, the temperature is supposed to be in the upper 90s. The high Friday is forecast to be near 80. Our desire to move ahead at breakneck speed may even be taking the wind out of summer.
Several local divisions start school next week—again, a change from the old tradition of beginning classes after Labor Day, which used to be the unofficial end of summer. Now, at least in our minds, summer is over the day to big yellow buses start rolling.
The team formerly known as the Washington Redskins begins its preseason schedule next week, a sure sign that autumn has arrived. Yes, it is “only” a preseason game, but in today’s NFL, even these “practice” games are holy and sold out.
In other words, August has become the transition month that September once was. We can’t wait. We can’t enjoy that last month of hot weather. We must move ahead so we can start celebrating Christmas in October.
We have no idea why we need to rush to the future; we just know that we must get there. Maybe we are afraid someone will steal autumn if we don’t hurry. Whatever the reason, we have made August the new September.
Money is the reason the NFL games have been moved up. As I said, America has gone so sports crazy that three decades ago team owners realized they would squeeze even more cash from crazed fans if they played up the preseason. TV cooperated, of course, and that brought more money into the coffers.
As for school, well, if we start early, we can get out early, graduate in early May instead of June. That way we can go to the beach when the water is still frigid and try desperately to find camps to keep our bored children occupied after classes are over. We still go 180 days; we just shift the schedule around. Maybe that’s a product of new math.
August is a month of change. The amount of daylight decreases dramatically between the end of July and first of September. Tomorrow, the sun sets at 8:23. It sets at 7:43 on Aug. 31. That’s a 40-minute loss in evening daylight.
By the end of August, the field corn will start turning brown and the dogwood leaves will begin to redden. Polk berries will turn burgundy and early fall apples will be nearly ready to pick.
High school football teams will have played their first games by the end of August and the NFL regular season will be ready to go. When the month comes to an end, there will only be 30 days left in the Major League Baseball season and Halloween candies will start appearing on store shelves.
Do you realize that August is the only month of the year without a holiday, major or minor? Why? Who knows. I guess nothing significant ever happened in August, except maybe the beginning of World War I and the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima, but neither are events that warrant a celebration.
There is one semi-celebratory event in August. Dog Days ends Aug. 11. After that, a menstruating woman can walk through the garden without killing all the crops, at least according to an old wives tale.
August is also the month when the Atlantic Basin becomes active and we can expect hurricane season to begin in earnest.
So, we rush into August and autumn, leaving July and summer behind. The kids are going back to school, the tropical winds are starting to get their act together and quarterbacks, not home run hitters, will be the heroes.
Today, you will complain about the summer heat. Friday, you will turn to your wife and ask, “Where did summer go?”
Time sure flies when you’re having fun.
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Good one, Donnie. Glad you are still publishing. Have a always enjoyed your experienced musings, and wisdom.
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