Disappointing summer

By Joe Rector

I’ve blinked my eyes, and the summer is gone. For the first time in my life, I’m saying it’s about time this season from hell ended. Normally, I declare that the hot months are my favorite ones, but life this year has been less than enjoyable.

Oh, just being able to go outside without freezing is wonderful, and Daylight Saving Time is something that should be used all year long. The pool has provided relief from the scorching temperatures, but for the first month it was opened, the cooler weather lingered well into the latest days of spring. Icy water isn’t too good on old joints and hearts.

This summer, the temperatures were so high on many days that going to the pool offered no relief. Everyone has been in water that feels the same temperature of bath water. So, too often I spent evenings in the air-conditioned family room. My television watching turned into an obsession with YouTube.

Special occasions have been disasters this summer. My birthday is close enough to Memorial Day that our family plans a weekend at home. We spend time in the pool or find something of interest to do. This year, the get-together was canceled when I contracted Covid. Amy’s birthday weekend was also ruined when I came down with Covid for a second time this summer. In addition to these misfortunes, a trip to see Lacey in middle Tennessee was nixed after I nearly severed my left ring finger while using a table saw.

Amy and I will celebrate a special anniversary in December, and we booked a tour of New York City with a company with whom we’d traveled before. During the summer months, the tour guide let us know the trip had been canceled due to not enough participants. We always save our summer vacation for after Labor Day so that the crowds aren’t so thick on the beach. Right this moment, I should be sitting under an umbrella with sand on my feet, a drink in my hand, and a book on my tablet. Instead, I’m sitting on the porch at our house and recovering from my second bout with Covid. Amy is in the house after becoming the disease’s latest victim.

Even my favorite activity, mowing, has been spoiled this year. Several days of mowing tee boxes at Knoxville Municipal were washed out by the flooding rainstorms in the area. At other times, drought-like conditions have turned the lush grass areas into burned, crunchy dust bowls.

We’re into the close of summer, and I hope better days are on the way. Lacey and Dallas have treated us to a stay at a cabin on the river close to Biltmore. I’m excited to be well so that we can go. Keep your fingers crossed that no more disasters or disappointments are lying in wait for us.

Let us also hope that our researchers and doctors can find a strong vaccine that can kick Covid’s butt. This virus has taken too many lives and ruined many good memories for people. I know that I’m old and crotchety, and perhaps my complaints are a result of realizing that not too many more adventures are possible. The balm for all of this is the performances of the football team on the hill. Go Big Orange!