By Elena Cala Buscarino
Buffalo, NY – Yin and Yang: the embodiment of a bright, positive, masculine being and a dark, negative, feminine entity. Color me darkly Yin, because here I am on the East Coast, enduring the sort of volatile weather we suffer each so-called spring this far north of the equator. A few weeks ago, I spoke to my brother who lives in California. We’ll refer to him as Yang. I was watching the snow drift past my window on the last day of my spring break, while he was sitting by his pool.
I understand my coordinates on the world map, but by mid-April, the winter-like weather becomes almost insulting. My nose and fingers are always chilled it seems, and I take on the posture of Quasimodo as a result of six months of hunching against the cold. My pool is a murky, green paramecium farm in my frigid backyard, and summer seems light-years away.
And then, magically, one week later, there I was, steeped in 80 degree temperatures…global warming at its finest. I was so busy outside that week, rinsing away road salt and mowing the lawn that grew as if by time-lapsed photography. And I was WARM. I couldn’t wait for Yang’s usual Saturday phone call and my turn to gloat.
When the phone rang, however, I went the other way. Not only had the temperature dipped again, not only was snow in the forecast, but the unthinkable happened for us here on the east coast…we had an earthquake. The next day, as promised, it snowed. If you had a friend who behaved like the weather here…you’d take them for counseling.
And now, for at least the next month we are firmly rooted in what I like to refer to as "Idiot Summer." Idiot summer is a phenomenon that takes place each year after a few days of unseasonably warm weather, and long before true summer arrives. Some people, choosing to remember those two warm days out of the last two hundred cold days, go outdoors in next to nothing based solely on the fact that the sun is shining…never mind that the temperature has dipped back into the 40's.
And the rest of us, from our cars with our heaters on, wrapped in down and wool…and a yard-tan left over from the "teaser weather" — look at these people in shorts and tank tops and say, "Look at those idiots. They think it’s summer."
But who can blame them for trying to rush the season? Maybe they’re more optimist than idiot. Because when the northeast is green, when we are really in our summer, no one, in any part of the country celebrates the season like we do. When the warm air moves in, and the earth tilts just so...When we can walk outdoors, wearing clothing instead of gear…it’s so delightful. And, yes, it is a short season here, but we drink it in, immerse ourselves in it, and cherish every moment.
It’s such a euphoric awakening each year. Caf?'s fill their patios, convertibles come out of storage, and people, too. Sidewalks that were inhabited by shapeless, bulky, and hurried forms are suddenly filled with beautiful people…strolling…with bare arms, and legs, and sandaled feet. We’re outside, and we love it! Nothing is taken for granted. In warm weather, we are prisoners set free, we are born anew, we welcome a lost love, we exalt in every moment…because we missed it, and we know it won’t last. No one but a northeasterner can know what I mean by that. No one but a northeasterner knows how absolutely wonderful summer here feels. And no one but us knows how badly we need our summer right now. It’s coming…
So maybe Yang is bright all of the time, but when Yin feels joy, her lightness permeates everything…and you can bet there’s something worth celebrating. In the meantime, I hate to be negative, but I think I’ll call Yang back as soon as I can find a way to fit the San Andreas Fault into casual conversation.
Listener Commentator Elena Cala Buscarino teaches writing at St. Andrew's Country Day School.