Summer Doldrums - Laidback

It appears to me that starting right after the 4th of July each year and continuing until a week or so before school starts, folks are in a laid-back mode. It's like they're at a point in life where the kids are off from school and have little to do, parents are using some vacation time, business in stores is slow...it's the Summer Doldrums.

Depending on your perspective, it can be a really neat time of year, or a bummer. For businesses, it's typically a bummer. For an old fart like me, it's wonderful! I luv it when things slow down to a crawl.

When schools are closed, it seems half the morning rush hour traffic disappears from the roads. Old folks normally have to wait until around 8:30 or 9 before they hit the streets to make sure all those big yellow buses have disappeared and the concerned parents who insist on driving their kids to school are settled back in at home, shopping or at work. I went out at 8 this morning and it was a breath of fresh air on the highways. Wonderful.

Afternoon rush hour doesn't improve quite as much since kids exit school before most folks leave work.

I went into the grocery store this morning and you would have thought the whole world was sleeping late, hardly anyone there. Of course, Tuesday is generally quiet anyway, but man today was nice.

Even with all this nice summer doldrums stuff going on, I ain't planning to head out around lunch time. Even laid-back folks seem to love being on the road around noon, sometimes it's a work break for some lunch or shopping; anything to get out of the office, right! Lunch can be the worst time of the day on the roads.

During rush hours, everyone knows exactly where they're going and the best route to get there. At lunch, it's total confusion, GPS's reign supreme with lost folks blocking the roads and making U-turns. The world goes crazy at lunch.

Yes sir, I've concluded that the thing known as 'Summer Doldrums' is a good thing for me!

JD

PS - I think I'll eat lunch at home today to miss the crazy traffic, and of course to aid in my lower calorie regimen.