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Today is June 1st. Let me start by quoting James Russell Lowell... And what is so rare as a day in June? I've always loved the month of June... and June is starting with a lovely warm sunny day, blue skies, mild breezes... To a certain extent, I guess our school days condition us to have a favorable impression of the month; after all, it's the month when school ends (at least in most localities in the U.S.)... and although April and May can have warmth and sunshine, they can also have cold and rainy spells (as they did this year here in Rhode Island). June brings mild late spring weather and an introduction to summer without the sometimes extremes of summer heat and drought. When I was a little kid I can remember being entranced by the month of June, by the rich green of the shrubs growing next to our front porch and the warm dappled sunshine filtered through their leaves... by incredible variations in the color green to be found in fields and woods. I've come to find things to enjoy in all the months in all the seasons. Although perpetual summer might be pleasant, I could never live like that all the year around; I need the variety of seasons... summer heat and sun, beaches, cool shaded woods, mild star-filled summer nights... the splendor of autumn leaves, crisp frosty October mornings... white Christmases, snowmen and cross-country skiing... gentle spring rains and the baby green of new shoots coming up from the rich earth... Ah, but June... June is the loveliest month... June's only shortcoming is that it is only 30 days long. Later this month Nancy and I will celebrate our 21st wedding anniversaries. Plural? Yes... we were married quietly in a civil ceremony on June 16th in a judge's chambers and then we proclaimed ourselves to be married in a large gathering of family and friends one week later... so we have two dates to celebrate. A bit of pop music trivia: today is Pat Boone's 66th birthday. I'm not sure if that makes me feel young (because he's nine years older than me) or makes me feel old (because I'm only nine years younger than that)... ah well... Happy June everybody! |
