Bak 2 skul

I strolled over to University Village around noon, basking in the mid-day sun as I walked, so I could pick up a book describing local hiking trails. (I have several such books already, but they tend to go out of date as fast as you can shout, "Forest clear cut!) I noticed something different, as I did so. No kids.

Nope, today's the first day of school. And I'm sure the bitter irony has not escaped notice by the young scholars.

As whiny earlier posts noted, Seattle was having a year without a summer. Actually, this is our second straight year with a sub-standard summer. But during the second half of August, the gods began to relent. The sun's been shining, the temperature's been hitting 80 most days, my lawn's all dried up. It's been beautiful.

When we get good weather from late August through September, it's a special treat. The sun may be blazing, but not with a white heat; it lights up the scenery with an autumnal golden glow, as it moves farther each day to the south. Even when the temperatures reaches the low 80's, and the sun feels hot upon my skin, the air feels slightly cooler and less humid than it would have earlier in the summer. The temperature drops into the low 50's each night, even after a very warm day, so my bedroom's comfortable while I sleep. There's a pleasant chill to the air when I get up in the morning.

A chill that's agreeable, because I see the sun coming up and know it's going to be another great, warm, sunny day. It's a morning chill that doesn't preclude my donning shorts and a t-shirt in anticipation of the day to come.

Which brings us back to the students. Their school vacation is ending after nearly three months, of which only the last couple of weeks was anything like proper summer weather. They trudge off to school as the hot sun rises in the sky. They see the ten-day forecast in the newspaper, with a bright yellow sun marking each coming day. And they feel cheated.

And they may well be. I've always wondered why schools in the Northwest don't close from July through September. June is usually rainy around here; September is usually one of our nicest months. The University doesn't re-open until the last Monday of September. That makes sense.

But, meanwhile, the public school kids are learning a valuable lesson they've no doubt heard about before: No one ever said life is fair!