The tempestuous springtime brought us anything but joy this year. I believe there were more tornadoes, fire and flood than we have ever witnessed in any year past. Property and crop damage, illness and death from seemingly wanton so-called "acts of God" brought headlines of gloom and tableaux of devastation in all parts of our country. In fact, the entire world saw the effects of earthquake and cyclone in Asia, where human deaths and suffering far exceeded those of our own here in America. As much as we dreaded to see and hear the results of these disasters, our collective hearts -- and assistance -- went out to the victims, now homeless and bereft.

The weeks kept getting greener and the daily temperatures began to carry the modifier of "heat index" to the reports, now given so scientifically, and around the clocks, even preempting the regular programming on TV. The early months of baseball were typical and gave no sense as to what champions would emerge after summer is gone. Out-of-season sports came to their championships, wrapping up the hockey and basketball layoffs and winners for the year. As a rite of quadrennial spring, we watched with mounting interest the end of the political primary season, with some indications now confirming, later blasting the news of poll results.

The longest day of the year sees the sun at its zenith, and the short nights will begin to lengthen until late in the summertime, when the changes of foliage and the harvest will occupy our attention as we note the gyrations at the swinging of our star. For humans have always gazed at our moon with wonder, and our navigators look for Alpha Centauri and Polaris when plotting the latitudes of spinning earth, creating a boundary for the trackless wastes of ocean. We tend to give human attributes to the differing months and the four seasons. Spring is an ingénue, scarcely realizing her emergence into full womanhood. Winter is a blustery old man who stamps with his ill-tempered shivery timbers, blowing an ill wind before him. Autumn is a fair youth who gives us his gift of art and a consummation of our efforts with the bounty of harvest. Summer? She is upon us now tempting us with her wiles, her sweet mouth full of promises. Welcome…June-you are "busting out all over!"