Time for summer play
By Todd C. Frankel
Herald Writer
Tanning bed use is down. Requests for blond highlights and haircuts are up. Visits to the psychiatrist are tailing off.
These are the surest signs yet that summer is upon us.
And just to hammer the point home, today is the official first day of summer, the summer solstice. It is the longest day of the year, with 16 hours between sunrise and sunset.
So from now until at least the Sept. 22 autumnal equinox, it should be warmer outside, if not downright hot, and the sky should be missing its usual jacket of gray.
| Solstice trivia
Here’s a quiz from the Learning Network’s Web site:
A. At the winter solstice
B. At the vernal equinox C. At the autumnal equinox
A. There’s no relationship
B. There’s always a full moon at the solstice
C. There’s always a new moon at the solstice
A. “Long Day’s Journey into Night”
B. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
C. “Suddenly Last Summer”
A. North Pole
B. South Pole
C. Equator
1. C; 2. A; 3. B; 4. A.
|
But the shock of the solstice’s arrival is dampened by summer’s warm-ups over the past couple of weeks. At the National Weather Service office in Seattle, the solstice is receiving no special treatment.
"It’s not a huge deal. It’s just the longest day of the year," said student meteorologist Jeremy Wolf.
And while it approached 80 degrees F outside Wednesday, no records were set. The hottest June 20 in Everett history arrived in 1982 when it hit 87. The hottest June 21 solstice day was 82 degrees in 1970.
The forecast for today calls for party cloudy skies with a high of 72. The weather service is not yet offering predictions on whether it’ll be a cool or hot summer. It’s just too early to tell, Wolf said. Everett’s historical mean temperature is 63 degrees in July and August.
But people are already acting as if summer is here and here for good. Just take a look inside Lorinda’s Hair and Tan Salon in Mill Creek.
"Our tanning has been going down since the sun really came out," said Shannon Bunch, makeup artist at Lorinda’s. "People would probably rather be outside in the sun than in a tanning bed."
The tanning slack-off began around Memorial Day during a string of sunny days, Bunch said. But the loss has been offset by requests for summerlike hair changes of a lighter color and shorter length.
"A lot of people see the sun and then want their hair blonder," Bunch said.
Plenty of sun is expected today. The sunrise was at 5:11 a.m. and the sunset will be at 9:11 p.m.
All that additional sunlight should be good. The sun does funny and positive things to people, according to Everett psychologist Dan Thomsen. Summer allows people to go outside more often, do more activities and spend time bonding with family and friends.
"People just in general tend to feel better all the time during the summer," he said. "Throughout history, the turning from cold to light has been a real rejuvenator."
Thomsen’s caseload goes down in the summer "because people are doing other things for their mental health," he said.
Everett therapist Susan Palmer has noticed something similar. Canceled appointments turn epidemic during the first week of sunny weather, she said.
By contrast, the beds at psychiatric hospitals tend to be full in January, just after the pressure-filled Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, Palmer said.
But Palmer warned that not everyone jumps with joy at summer’s arrival.
"Some people love the rain. Some people love the cloudiness," she said. "There’s a lot of individual differences."
You can call Herald Writer Todd C. Frankel at 425-339-3429
or send e-mail to frankel@heraldnet.com.
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