Melancholy in the Air

It's 6:12 PM on Hump Day and late, late summer is in the air. The singing of the cicadas is in the trees. Reee! Reee! Reee! The days are getting shorter, and in spite of the warmth of the air, a hint of fall around the corner is on the breeze. The Streeterville Weather Service tells me that it's 82 mid-August degrees under clear blue skies.

There's something about the month of August winding down that is a little melancholy. You don't really recognize it until it's snuck up on you and grabbed you by the melancholy glands. It's not one tangible thing that you can put your finger on, but a host of little things that begin adding up to create an effect.

On the surface it's still summer. It's sunny and in the 80's. Babs is out playing tennis. I just got back from a long walk by the lake. Navy Pier is still teeming with tourists. The boats are still on the lake in large numbers. The slanting rays of the late afternoon sun are still lovely as they highlight the blue expanse of Lake Michigan.

Yet there are subtle signs of change. The bright sunlight isn't waking me as it comes in my window at 5 AM any more. It's almost 6 AM now. The slanting yellowish sunlight of late afternoon comes sooner now. The real key for me, though, is the cicadas. As I was walking past the Chess Pavilion just south of North Avenue Beach, I heard the cicadas in the trees. When I thought about it, the heat of the sun had lost a notch or two as well, and something on the breeze hinted of autumn around the corner.

The overall effect was one of distinct melancholy. Suddenly, the people at the beach, the bikers, runners, and roller bladers on the path, the boaters, the tennis players all seemed to be grasping for the last drops of summer, trying to wring every last bit they could out of the month of August.

The big ship in the distance on the lake is heading to Gary to pick up a load of iron, and I suddenly find myself singing "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." The Bud Billiken Back to School Parade has already been held. The Chicago Air and Water Show is coming up this weekend. Labor Day is around the corner and September heralds the cooling of temperatures, the appearance of cool weather wardrobes, the lighting of fireplaces for the first time in the new season.

Summer is nearly over. Embrace it while you can and embrace the coming of the new season with its cyclical changes. Embrace the melancholy for a moment. Then move on. The cycle of the ages never stops. It's just that I really hate putting my shorts and t-shirts away again and getting out all that cold weather gear. Sigh.