It's Called the Summertime Blues

"Yeah, sometimes I wonder what I'm going do

'Cause there ain't no cure for the summertime blues

No, there ain't no cure for the summertime blues"

- Alan Jackson

Summer is not everyone's favorite time of the year. This may come as a shock to some, because summer is so closely associated with vacations and holidays.

My feelings about summer have morphed from absolute delight (getting out of school being the main reason), to now where I don't have too much fun in the sun. 

My shriveled skin at 73 years-old burns like parchment paper if I'm outside for more than a few minutes. 

During my middle age it was all about taking our three sons to outside excursions during the summer. We even went to Death Valley one year. Talk about hot. My wife and I were always well-tanned from the sun's rays back in those days.

Summers are hotter than ever thanks to climate change. July 3rd was the hottest day ever recorded for the whole planet according to weather gurus.

That alone gives me the summertime blues.

Shirley and I make sure to go in our pool (for a few minutes) every day. It's one way of chasing the blues away.

As a deadly heat wave continues to ravage the country, new evidence suggests the human body may stop functioning optimally when outside temperatures climb to 104 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. 

States like Texas have had temps over 119 degrees recently. A man died from hiking in the heat in Death Valley, California when it reached 122 degrees.

That's enough to give anybody the summertime blues.

As it stands, stay as cool as possible in this extreme heat, especially if you're an old coot like me!