The feelings expressed in this opinion, are always relevant and current. It was originally written on a chilly evening, while I pined away for the warm days of summer.

Summer's Gone
A Gay/Pagan Opinion 10/14/00
by R. A. Melos

Whoever said April is the cruelest month, must've been referring to income tax season, because, for me, the Fall and Winter seasons are by far the cruelest times of the year.

Okay, I wear my dislike for the changing seasons like my heart upon the sleeve of the third layer of clothing I've donned to fight off the abominable chill of the early morning air.

I have a friend, born in July, a long time ago, who each Fall, as she feel the first cold breezes blow, laments "I'm a Summer baby!" It does no good, and the cold weather shows even less mercy, as if relishing the opportunity to torment a child of Summer.

Myself, I like to hibernate for the less tender seasons, and would, if I could, but I can't. So instead of retreating to a sandy beached warmer climate, as I would dearly lover to do, I shiver and bundle up in layers of clothing until movement is all but impossible, and look forward to the time when the sun's warmth returns with a fiery wave and melts my frozen bones again.

I know, as a pagan, the Fall season is one of introspection, but I've been introspective for the past few years, and while Samhain (pronounced so-wen) or Halloween is considered the Pagan New Year, and many pagans like to settle in for the long winter months and reflect upon the past before releasing it, I've done too much reflecting lately, and I just want to have fun.

I know my reaction to the cold weather is not shared by those ski enthusiasts with their "I won't let the weather dictate to me," attitude, but ice and snow are only enjoyable, to me, on a movie screen.

As to the beauty of the leaves changing from greens to bright reds and gold, they eventually turn from reds and golds to brown and then fall from the branches to the ground, creating yard work for me.

I guess I'm just not a nature boy, with a love of outdoor work, or the pollen that comes with Spring. I'm a one season guy, a Summer baby myself, (okay so May 27th is actually Spring. It's still warm weather), and would love to live where I wear as little as possible and hang out in the warm sand all day long.

I'm not saying I want to be on an island forming a tribe and alliances (amazing, I know the jargon and never saw the show. There's cultural/societal brainwashing for you.), but a warm climate and tropical beach is much more my style. Laid back, and relaxed is what I enjoy, and the Fall season for me means nothing more than hiding behind locked doors, fighting off the Winter chill, and watching new episodes of Ally McBeal.

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