Last night was National Night Out, that annual event in which we all pretend we like our neighbors for 90 minutes and share gossip about those assholes who let their dogs run up and down the street every morning.
I'd like to propose a change in the way the event is held in the future, however. NNO's head office is in Pennsylvania, which leads me to believe the idea itself originated somewhere in the Northern states, for only above the Mason-Dixon Line would one consider it a good idea to stand around outdoors on August 1st. Temperatures still hover in the mid-90s here at 5:30 PM, which has to cause some people to reconsider participating. Hell, the only reason I did was because I knew that otherwise my fellow residents would be mocking that inflatable pool I put in the front yard. Bastards.
What I envision is a sort of rolling series of National Nights Out. Maybe Minneapolis could have one on August 1, for example, Memphis on October 1, and Houston on November 15. At least that way we'd only have about a 50% chance of temps above 80.
Okay, 75%
That’s not a bad idea, actually. I would like to have NNO when there aren’t so many mosquitoes out! We hung out with our neighbors last night and I have five bites to show for it.
I love it when you read my mind and post EXACTLY what I’m thinking.
November 15, that’s a great idea — I used to love our block parties when I was a kid. Except when Mr. Taylor’s mad-humping dog was around. That was no fun, no fun at all.
Very good idea. Minneapolis, however, this year dodged a bullet. The high on 31 July was 101 degrees; on 1 August it was only 80!
(Disclosure: I grew up in Minneapolis).
The forecast for today for Lawrenceville, NJ is 100° at 5PM. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be 95° at 5PM. It’s not so good here, either.