The Rite of Spring

Well, its that time of year again. The moment when all of humanity lifts their voices in apparent unity to celebrate the imminent arrival of warmer weather. All winter, people have mused over their plans for the spring and summer. Strangers have come together to excitedly talk about the amount of outdoor activities, sports, and fun that the summer utopia allows. This euphoria blinds even the most vigilant of minds, and any memories of the previous summer are washed away by the idealism encapsulated in their varied plans for the season. It is into this delusion that I hope to make one seemingly obvious but sacrilegious observation. The summer season, at its essence, is the embodiment of all of our disappointments and failures. While this may seem harsh, I feel that I can adequately support this argument. Therefore, I would like to use the following article to convince my readers to follow my hastily thought out, but altogether reasonable ideas on summer.

The first thing I would like to address may be the most obvious. Of course I am referring to the weather. All winter, people shivering in their homes dream of a time when anything is possible. When they can throw off the shackles of their blankets and quilts to embrace the Eden that the rising mercury provides. Forgetting the problems of the previous summer, they enter April and May full of hope. It is then, that reality hits. A death scape of humidity and rain great every attempt at meaningful recreation. Plans are dashed by flash thunderstorms, and the muggy mid summer leaves society sitting in a pool of sweat and frustration. It is during this time, that people start preaching the brilliance of the air conditioner. Bemoaning any person or company without one, they curse the summer heat and complain about how the lack of reasonable weather has ruined all of their simple and rational plans. Despite this, their misplaced idealism does not abide. In fact, the often quoted "we'll do it next year" comes in vogue, and people eagerly began to plan next summer's activities. So with the changing of the seasons, the whole cycle begins again.

The previous paragraph touches on the second curse of summer, notably its ability to destroy the dreams of the optimistic, while rebuilding them under the guise of infinite possibilities in the future. The first thing that needs to be addressed is the absence of any misplaced anticipation towards winter. Of course there are members of the population who look forward to winter due to their affection for winter sports (a phenomena which itself needs to be addressed). Despite this, there doesn't seem to be a near universal impatience for the advent of winter that is so often seen concerning summer. Of course, a number of factors could be behind summer's preeminence. These range from longer daylight hours to a more vibrant natural life outdoors. Unfortunately, this still does not answer why people still unabashedly continue to believe the fantasy. It is with this in mind that my second critique of summer becomes clear. Mainly, the season's ability to beguile humanity into thinking it holds the promise of a infinite and uncontested leisure. This belief as well as summer's ability to ferment continued optimism through the means of sporadic concessions, help keep society firmly entrenched under its spell. All of this leaves the human race in a nonsensical state of anticipation for forthcoming summers, which in turn keeps the season firmly implanted as the tyrannical leader of our recreational sensibilities.

Finally, I would like to address the final and most important blight summer has laid upon us. Of course I am referring to human body odor. This organic and all to recognizable event has not only sent us into a downward spiral of stench, but its corresponding sweat has also ruined countless white shirts by turning them a peculiar shade of yellow. This in turn has sponsored numerous business interests who eagerly offer products specifically designed to combat such a gross attack on our livelihood. Fearing the social pariah status given to those whose foul odor afflicts our all too vigilant olfactory receptors, we eagerly buy these products, while blaspheming our bodies for causing us so much grief. Of course the theme of this article makes it all to clear that our bodies are not to blame. Instead, it is the all encompassing evil that should go without mention, summer.

In conclusion, I can't say enough bad things about about summer, but I can briefly talk about the good things. This is easy because there are only two things to mention, baseball and procreation. Baseball just because of nostalgia and because as an American, I grew up with its influence surrounding me. Procreation, sometimes simply called sex, is a different matter. Summer's merciless heat cause members of both sexes to wear less and less clothing. These titillating sights force us to think about only one thing, and as a result the continued survival of species is maintained. So perhaps there is some deal between summer and the cosmic force (whether it be rational science or faith based religion) responsible for existence? Maybe this entity will continue to force our minds to look forward to summer, while summer's oppressive heat will continue to force us to wear less clothing? Of course this would allow both to continue to get pleasure out of our very existence. Or maybe the answer is simpler. Perhaps our love of summer is because of our love of sex. Naturally, if thats true, than thats something I can look forward to.