The Brains of Summer

Something strange and wonderful happens to our brains in summer. Our rules and routines float away on the breeze. We're nostalgic and lazy. Is it the vitamin D, or the sun in our eyes? Is it because we're too darn hot to think, or that we're wearing fewer clothes? I don't know. The brains of summer beat to a different drummer.

Exhibit A. Reading preferences turn fluffy. Friends stock their Kindles with mysteries, romances, travel stories, and People. When the heat's on, I prefer rock bios. They're trashy, revealing, romantic, nostalgic, and disgusting. Perfect.

Exhibit B. We consume weird stuff: crustacean legs, stuff on sticks, deep fried friends, and sweet drinks with tons of ice and a straw. Last weekend I made corn dog bites and rum and coke slurpees. Are the corn dogs made from produce available only in summer? I think not. Are the slurpees too sweet for me in any other season? I think so. But in summer, they're perfect.

Exhibit C. We summer-crush on music we don't typically listen to. Never mind the time I got caught singing Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time" in the New Mexican heat. That was an aberration even by summer standards, not a crush. My current summer crush is on a band I thought I left back in the '70s next to a pair of Famolares: Electric Light Orchestra (listen and love here). This fling might go on well into the fall, or even develop into a serious relationship. It feels real in the moment.


If I could focus and think right now, I'd figure out how to bottle this mood so I could access it in November. But I can't, so excuse me while I find an icy drink and a bad book.

***

Here's the corn dog recipe. Follow it as is, except cut bite sized pieces, batter and fry them, then skewer them on a short stick. I'll post the slurpee recipe next time.