Rant #2,167: Here Comes Summer

Yes, in less than two hours, the summer season will have officially started for this year.

The summer might just be the best time of year, with the heat bringing us outdoors, into shorts and lighter wear, and into pools and beaches to cool off.

It means baseball also heats up, and we wipe our brows a little bit more, but it's better than wiping our brows after shoveling snow.

Me, I have to really watch myself this year.

I love the water, even though I am not much of a swimmer, and therefore, I have to use proper sun protection, in particular on my nose.

I had that pre-cancerous growth removed a few months ago--it was so stubborn that it took about three sessions at the dermatologist to fully remove it--and I don't want that thing to ever come back, because if it does, it might just be cancerous this time.

So in preparation for the coming of the summer this past weekend, when I went into the backyard pool with my wife, I wore a T-shirt, my hat to protect my bald head, and lots of sunscreen on my nose.

I think I can head this thing off at the pass by being proactive like this, but honestly, I feel like I am all dressed up and ready to go when I prepare for swimming like this, and I personally hate it, but I guess at this point, I would rather hate it than have to deal with skin cancer.

Anyway, when my wife and I are in the pool, we also take out the radio, and although we can put in a CD or listen to a thumb drive in this particular radio, we usually just get a little lazy and try to find a station that sets the mood for the heat.

Let me tell you, on New York radio, it is getting harder and harder to find a station to suit this mood.

The oldies stations are fine for what they do, but they are not the oldies stations of prior years.

They play 1980s and 1990s songs, the DJs don't tell you anything about the song that was just played, and the endless commercials are repeated often.

It is pretty boring.

And don't get me started on the Top 40 stations--argue with me if you like, but they are horrid because the music they play is pure garbage, created as files, not as works that will last for generations.

Really garbage.

And no, we don't want to listen to the news stations when we are swimming. We all need a break from that.

So we have to settle for a station that kind of fits the mood and kind of doesn't, because there isn't anything else to listen to.

Last week, on Father's Day, we had a barbecue. I love to cook on the grill, but it really was so hot on Sunday that mixed with the grill heat, I was truly pooped at the end of the day.

But it was a lot of fun, a lot of fun seeing my family get together, and I hope to do some grilling again throughout the summer months.

As I am typing this, summer is creeping closer by the second.

I hope you have as good a summer as I expect to have, and my early summer continues my recent trials and tribulations of being busier than all heck this June.

And that continues tomorrow.

I have some things to do tomorrow, so I won't be at my familiar perch on Friday, but I expect to come roaring back on Monday, the beginning of another super busy week.

So enjoy the first days of summer, stay cool, and I will speak to you again on Monday.

Have a great--and summery--weekend, and we will speak again next week.