june 11, that's all

It turns out that the summer solstice is only ten days away. The Northwest has been cloud-bound for the past days but I don’t really mind the cool weather. It’s good for skating, and I know that come July there will be blazing heat. No rush.

It’s strange, though, how much less sleep you need in the summertime in the north. Darkness doesn’t fall until 9:40 or so and dawn breaks at something like 5 a.m. When you’re outside till ten then eat dinner until 11 then fritter around for another couple hours, that puts you in bed past 1 am for no real reason, but then there’s the bright morning outside the open window only a few hours later with birds, squirrels, the roofing crew from next door etc, and a body wants to wake up when it’s morning, and so on and so forth.

 

Anyway, been reading this true story about a 16 year old boy who sailed around the world by himself starting in 1965. Can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to pilot a little boat through the jeweled islands of the South Seas, feasting off coconut meat and boiled barracuda. Two kittens named Joliette and Suzette keeping you company on board (cats like sailboats, isn’t that weird!). Anyhow, what I take away from the story is how little you need to subsist in this life—a pair of shorts, a hunting knife, a lifeboat, a sheltering cove for when the storm hits.