SUMMER IS WHAT LIFE OUGHT TO BE

The cosmic clockworks have once more clicked and meshed into their solstice place. The warm whispers of summer are now fast upon us. Each of our seasons has a claim to our heart, but, oh, summer is really what life ought to be. Fat red suns inside azure blue skies...greenery bursting and budding everywhere...wild gardens ripening into fierce colors and aromas...kids and puppy dogs scampering ....young lovers loving...elders remembering.

What can be bad? And if you insist on reminding us of the humidity and insects, you're dis-invited from the banquet.

Summer is like a piece of plump fruit. To fully appreciate it, you have to bite into it. And true to form, the biters are all around us. Lean bare bodies beaching and jogging along the city lakefront. Picnickers on red-checkered table-clothes juggling plates of chicken breasts and potato salads. Boaters and concert-goers, strollers and sleepers, players and punks. They're all out there, each to his or her particular devotion.

There's this worldly-wise Swedish proverb: A year without summer is like a life without love.

OK, I'll admit there can be some downsides to the season. One I no longer am held prisoner by -- the social pressure of striding the beaches and parks in a bathing suit. When you're young and scrawny, the pressure can be excruciating. When you're old and flabby, you no longer give a damn!

Another terrible summertime curse -- the media's pressure to find something to write about. Behold today's New York Times. The editors chose to splash a front page story challenging the White House's description: "This is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced." I know all about freedom of speech and the value of historical scholarship. And yet, the story reminded me of a manger telling his charging fighter in round five: "Well look, kid, you don't have to try so hard. After all, other fighters have had tougher battles."

While I disavow my old bathing suit, perhaps this reporter can disavow his invitation that we "put our Gulf efforts into calmer perspective." Now pass the lemonade...