Why I Hate August 1st

Sorry folks, but this time I have to rant. In a nutshell, I hate August 1st.

There are two main reasons. Number 1, it feels like the official beginning of the end of summer, which depresses me because I LOVE summer. Already the weather feels cooler, the days are getting shorter. August 1 also means that the beginning of school now looms only a couple-three weeks away, which means--soon--drop offs and pick ups and homework and volleyball practice and the million and one other things that six-letter word "school" brings with it.

And there's another big reason I hate August 1. Behind my backyard lies the baseball field for a local public high school. Which is fine cause it's nice and quiet, especially in the summer. However, Aug. 1 is the official beginning of pee-wee football practice on that field. Now, I'm all for sports for kids. And these kids--they're what, 10, 11-years-old?--seem nice and all. (Mad calls them the 'midget football players.') The kids are fine. It's the *&^^%$ coaches I can't stand! Why? Well, let me count the reasons.

A. There are scores of them--about 1 coach per every three kids.

B. Each coach has a whistle.

C. Each coach tries to out-macho the other with incessant yelling, whistling blowing, and generally trying to make as much noise as possible for the 2+ hours each practice lasts. (This goes on through Oct 31; later in the fall when it gets dark so early, they wheel in lights operated by portable generators.) I swear to God, it's like having 15 Vince *&^%$ Lombardi's a few steps from your backyard throwing fits for two hours. I mean, come on--they're KIDS.

To help get over my August 1st blues, today I stopped at two places that STILL mean summer to me: two of my favorite fruit stands.The first is in St. Helena, at the corner of Deer Park Road and Silverado Trail. They have the BEST strawberries ("The best, Jerry. The best!"). Small and firm with an amazing explosion of taste and juice as you bite into them, these strawberries pack a punch in a tiny package.

The other is on River Road about a half-mile west of the Fulton Road intersection. They have a huge selection of very fresh fruits and veggies, as well as other products like breads, homemade pies, organic Sebastopol apple juice, etc. Anyway, today I loaded up on heirloom tomatoes and cheap avocados and those amazing strawberries and scored some great apple juice. So if you're driving by my house this evening and see me outside sipping a glass of wine and enjoying the last of summer's wonders sitting in my FRONT yard, you'll know why....