Beware the Tenth of June

Beware the Tenth of June

I first arrived in Scottsdale the fall of 1980. It was beautiful. I watched the news in February and laughed at the temperatures and snow in Illinois. I knew Arizona summers were supposed to be hot but had no idea what to expect.

Then, in April, I was having breakfast at the old Sunburst Resort coffee shop, and a sweet, elderly lady came in. She was all dressed up and seemed fine until she began addressing each customer in the restaurant saying, “You have to be gone by the tenth of June”. I watched and waited my turn until she came to my table. She was so sweet and so sincere, I didn’t have the heart to question her, so I simply smiled and nodded and said something amounting to “yes”.

After she left, I asked the server what was that all about. She said that the lady was harmless, but she came in several times each spring, telling people to be out of town by the tenth of June.

I didn’t think any more about it until I put my trash can out to the curb in early June. It was a Wednesday morning and my oh my, it was hot. As I parked my trash barrel, I looked up the street, then down the street. There were no other barrels at the curb. I suddenly felt all alone. Only months before, there had been at least 30 barrels in view. Now there were none.

I went back in the house and checked the calendar. It was the tenth of June.

So, while the official beginning of summer is the Summer Solstice, which falls on June 20^th this year, the first day of Arizona’s summer is to me the tenth of June.

Think about me next Monday. Think about my sweet old lady. Go outside for just a moment and welcome the Arizona Summer, a time when we go from our air-conditioned houses to air-conditioned cars to air-conditioned offices. We stay inside until the sun goes down, but what beautiful evenings. The air is sweet. The pollen is gone. Jump in the pool or go north for the weekend. Enjoy all that Arizona has to offer. Or be out of town by the tenth of June.

And when is it safe to come back? Well, if Summer starts ten days early, it only makes sense to add ten days in September. So, get back in town the second of October, when the air begins to cool, and the traffic begins to build. First come the Canadians, then the Minnesotans. By Christmas, you wouldn’t be caught dead wishing for a white Christmas and then comes early spring.

I love Arizona.