Summer Reign

J. Kevin Tumlinson

Remember what summer meant to you as a kid? To me it was three months off, doing pretty much anything I wanted to do without worrying about homework or grades or any of that hoopla. I had summers filled with trips to the beach, road trips with friends, late nights sitting with my buddies and laughing our heads off about just any stupid thing.

I miss those days.

These days, summer is about being so hot it drives you out of your mind. It's about the electric bill sky rocketing, and worrying about hurricanes. It's about trying to cram three months of fun and nostalgia into a week or so of vacation time.

That's what being a grownup will do to ya. We trade in our bikes and clubhouses and road trips for mini-vans and board meetings and business trips. Somewhere along the way, we just stopped having any fun at all.

I wonder if we could reclaim those summer days? I mean, sure, the world can't just stop for three months every year. But can't we at least have time to just play? Weekends are hardly a fair exchange - two days to every five you work. What's that all about?

I've made the argument before that there's hardly a job on earth that can't be done in four days instead of five. I still think that's true. But if we have to stick with this five day work week, how about a week off at regular intervals? Say every three weeks? Three weeks on, one week off. So basically, about once a month we'd get a break, and we could all go on a road trip together. Neat.

Sure, sure, we'd probably have to stagger people's off time on some jobs. Put them on schedules that overlap, so that someone's there doing the work while the other person is off, that sort of thing. That's easy enough. Manufacturing and chemical plants have been doing that sort of thing for years.

Maybe with more time to spend with friends and family, we can curve some of the awful things that seem to be happening more and more these days. Maybe if parents can spend more time with their kids, we won't have so many kids addicted to drugs or committing crimes. Maybe if husbands can spend more time with their wives, we won't have as many instances of adultery and unfaithfulness. Maybe if we could all take a couple of road trips together, there wouldn't be so many murders or violent crimes.

Relax. It's more than just a song from the '80's, it's a mantra. We should all be whispering it under our breath. I think that the majority of problems we face in this world come directly from the fact that we don't know when or how to slow down. We don't have a summer anymore.

Time for the Reign of Summer to begin again. Time to relax. Time to take back the time off we used to get so freely, and use it with the tempered wisdom that comes from living in the adult world. I'll meet you on the beach. You bring chips!

J. Kevin Tumlinson is a writer and a schoolteacher living in Lake Jackson, TX. He is wearing flip flops and a swim suit right now.