summer
-
The Other Side of Summer
The calendar says that summer of 2024 ends on September 21. Tradition says it will end the day after Labor Day. For me, summer is effectively over on this, the evening of August 25. Fall classes start tomorrow at SUNY Oswego, and I will be there on day one teaching a section of Integrated Marketing Continue reading
-
Peonies
The peonies in our front yard are in full bloom. I get sentimental seeing peonies as they remind me of my late mother, who always enjoyed them. Their blossoming is also a welcome sign that summer has arrived. I’m no botanist, but there are two things I know about peonies. The first is that, as Continue reading
-
August
More than any other month on the calendar, August is a time of transitions for me. It starts with the weather. In many parts of the U.S., I know August is associated with the sweltering dog days of summer. But in my corner of Upstate New York, this is the time of year when things Continue reading
-
A Trip to Rudy’s
It was one of those summer nights. Too hot to cook, and nobody in the house had enough energy to prepare a meal regardless of the temperature. Fast food or pizza weren’t going to cut it. After a little deliberation, we did what folks around here do in the summer — we got in the Continue reading
-
The Heat
Today belonged to the heat. Once the temperature reached the mid-nineties, it preoccupied my northern brain, so thoroughly inured to cold and snow and wind, but unready for this. At a certain point, the heat becomes The Heat. It was one of those days where walking out of an air-conditioned building onto the sidewalk slowed Continue reading
-
Summer, Summer, Summer; It’s Like a Merry-Go-Round
Today is the Summer Solstice. For the record, I’m a fan. When I was growing up, the third week of June was the end of our school year. I will always associate this time with lazy half-days of teachers filling time with anything but actual learning, the weight-off-my-chest feeling of relief after finishing up New Continue reading
About Me
Researcher. Marketer. Teacher. Father of adult children and dogs. 20th Century holdover. Central New York native. Long-suffering Buffalo Bills fan. History nerd. Traveler. Vintage advertising enthusiast. Hat wearer.
a.k.a. V.J. 