Skip to content

Random Connections

A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Photos
  • Resources
  • Other Voices
  • Post Archives
  • Podcast
  • Home
  • Miscellaneous
  • Now is the Summer of Our Discontent

Now is the Summer of Our Discontent

Posted on July 27, 2005 By Tom No Comments on Now is the Summer of Our Discontent
Miscellaneous

OrangeOzoneIf one must endure a heatwave, I supposed the best way to do it is with a fever of 101. While others sought the breeze of fans and AC vents, I basked in the warmth of my car and wrapped myself in blankets when I got home. I blame Karen B for bringing on this pestilence. She shared it with both of us in mid-June, and we have all been suffering relapses since then. This latest bout was heralded by fuzzy-headedness and a soreness in all my joints.

Of course, with the heat comes the warnings about air quality. The signs on the way home advised commuters to carpool because of an "Orange Ozone Alert." This was indeed a description of the color of the air, and not a description of the color of the warning. Constructions crews were kicking up tons of red dirt that just hovered in the air, cutting long-range visibility. The Powers That Be won’t admit that there is a problem. You will see the words "ozone" and "haze," but never the words "smog" or "pollution." Greenville recently challenged an air quality report, blaming the numbers on a faulty sensor at GSP Airport. I guess if they (TPTB) don’t say it out loud, it isn’t so.

And so this academic break grinds to a stifling end, and with it almost all vestiges of my life as a teacher. I’m now a full-year employee (instead of eleven months as I had been) and my department has been restructured. I’m no longer listed under Curriculum and Instruction, but Support Services. We’ll see what further changes that brings.

Speaking of the Summer (or Winter) of our Discontent, that phrase from Richard III is taken out of context and misquoted, as are so many of Shakespeare’s phrases.  The actual opening line is "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer…"  In other words, the harsh winter is over, and summer with all its opportunities has arrived.  Ah, if only that were so.  I guess we have Steinbeck to thank for the change of meaning.

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lowered upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths,
Our bruised arms hung up for monuments,
Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,
Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.
Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front,
And now, instead of mounting barbed steeds
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,
He capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Speaking of Ballistics…
Next Post: Obvious weather ❯

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Categories

  • EdTech (197)
  • Entertainment (201)
  • Family (123)
  • Gear (114)
  • General Technology (98)
  • Geocaching and Maps (208)
  • History and Genealogy (275)
  • Internet (141)
  • Local (458)
  • Miscellaneous (557)
  • Music (202)
  • Paddling (265)
  • Photography (781)
  • Podcast (17)
  • Rambling (233)
  • Rants (161)
  • Recipes (36)
  • Religion (48)
  • Restaurants (165)
  • Science (48)
  • Things Overheard (29)
  • Travel (413)
  • Uncategorized (143)
  • Washington Sabbatical (113)
  • Weirdness (59)

Recent Posts

  • Carolina Ghost Towns – Mitchellville
  • Carolina Ghost Towns – Paper Towns
  • Kayaking on Wolf Creek Lake
  • Carolina Ghost Towns – Colonial Dorchester
  • Six Layer Bourbon Grits Bowl

Recent Comments

  • Eric Kincaid on Kayaking and Coffee
  • Daniel S Mawn on Remembering the Walke
  • Judy Hall on The Clock on Wade Hampton
  • Charles Johnson on In Search of the Road Builder
  • Anthony h hannig on From Kingsbury to Stoneboro – Rambling in Lancaster County

Tags

blogging cemetery Christmas Columbia Edisto River edtech Entertainment family Flickr Florida Furman Furman University gear Georgia geotagging Ghost Town Ghost Towns Google Earth Google Maps GPS Greenville Greenville Chorale history Instructional Technology kayaking Lake Jocassee LCU Lowcountry Unfiltered maps Music North Carolina Paddling Photography rambling restaurant Restaurants review singing social networking South Carolina time-lapse Travel video Washington Washington State
June 2025
S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930  
« May    

Copyright © 2025 Random Connections.

Theme: Oceanly by ScriptsTown