Neighbors, Astrology, and Cheez-its

Happy August! Some great reads for your hopefully long and luxurious Sunday.

Hello, friends! To everyone new here, welcome.

I appreciate you letting me take up space in your inbox with my musings, which are a bit more sporadic during the summer months when I try not to be on my computer as much. You can pop over here to see what Second Breakfast is all about (including why I named it that), if you’d like. If not, that’s cool, too.

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My gosh, I feel like I blinked and then it was August. We’ve been hoodwinked! One minute we’re waiting for the reliably warm weather to kick in after the crescendo of spring, and the next, we’re getting inundated with back-to-school ads and shopping aisles filled with Halloween candy (ready or not, it’s out already). I haven’t even put my winter sweaters away yet! Is it even worth it now? I’m not sure.

As a self-described sun-worshipping lizard who most definitely runs cold and would gladly sit on a warm rock to soak up the sun’s rays for many hours a day, I adore summer. Especially in Seattle, where every day is 80 degrees and sunny with a light breeze, no humidity, and the rarest of rainstorms.

Bliss.

Seagulls enjoying the sun near the dock in Port Townsend, Washington. Me (not pictured) also enjoying the sun.

Despite my adoration of June through September, I’m not someone who pines for summer when it’s not summer. I love each and every season—yes, even winter, especially winter (I mean, I entered the world on a blustery February day in Chicago with a -50F windchill). Maybe that’s why I’m still cold…

However, I do get attached to whatever season I’m in, so I’ve been salty about retailers sending me emails about fall sweaters and Halloween decor (why am I receiving emails about Halloween decor in the first place?!) when I’m sweating my ass off in a tank top and shorts on my way to hunt down ice cream. It is a constant battle to stay present in the current moment when society always pushes us toward the next one.

But we’re just going to ignore that and bask in everything this season has to offer while we can (and while our overheated Earth tries her best to regulate her anger at humans—I mean, her temperature—while human-induced greenhouse gases live rent free in her atmosphere trapping heat like there’s no tomorrow). Good grief.

With that, let me be clear: I’m mindful that summer hasn’t been safe, let alone enjoyable, for so many people—especially our unhoused neighbors, those who work outside, and many, many others who are forced to navigate exploitative and unjust conditions. This article explains why heat is the “human rights issue of the 21st century.” It’s well worth a read and a think.

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In my efforts to be outside as much as possible and give my brain a rest from writing all day at work, I haven’t been writing much here. BUT, I have been doing some reading, and I’ve got loads of interesting articles for you to peruse if you find yourself with some spare time and a desire to dig into some interesting topics.

I’m thinking about making Sunday Second Breakfast Reads a thing. Because if there’s anything I love more than writing, it’s celebrating other people’s writing. Not to mention: Is there anything more glorious than a long, lazy second breakfast—both the meal and the mood—on a Sunday?

1. How to Know Your Neighbors

2. Keke Palmer Is the Internet’s Sweetheart

3. Long COVID Is Being Erased—Again (As much as society wants us to believe that COVID is gone and no one needs to worry about it anymore, it’s not and we do. This article highlights the ongoing crisis of long COVID and the ways our society has outright ignored or dismissed those experiencing it.)

4. Can Astrology Be a Tool for Liberation?

5. Roxane Gay on How She Arrived at Herself (This is a podcast, but it’s about one of my favorite writers so it counts, bye.)

6. Does Wearing Colorful Clothes Change Our Feelings?

7. What Does it Mean to Be Queer?

8. A Brief History of the Cheez-It (It’s 103-years-old!)

9. 3 Marriage Counselors on the Misuse of Therapy-Speak

10. Dingus of the Week: Mike Pence (Lyz’s newsletter

    Men Yell at Me
    is just excellent—this series especially—and I always look forward to reading it.)

11. The Joy of May-December Friendship (I wrote about my appreciation of intergenerational friendship a few months ago, and this article was a heartwarming look into other people’s experiences.)

Alright, in an attempt to stop inundating you with things to consume, I’ll leave it at that. But if you’ve read or heard anything good lately, please send it my way (or throw it in the comments so everyone can see!). I’m getting on a 10-hour international flight tonight, and I could use some good reading and/or listening materials. Additionally, if you have any recs for can’t put down-able books that are great for vacation, I’d love to hear about those, too.

Thanks so much for being here! I hope you’re doing great.

Until next time,

Elizabeth