THE DOG DAYS OF AUGUST

DEAR GEORGE, People sometimes think that the “dog days of summer” means the late summer days when temperatures aren’t even fit for a dog. Actually the phrase was coined by the ancient Romans and denotes the period when the star Sirius (the Dog Star) rises and sets with the sun. Because the Dog Star is the brightest star in the sky, the Romans believed that it gave off heat and added to the sun’s warmth, thus accounting for the sultry weather in late summer. Hence, the “dog days”. We’ve definitely experienced the dog days in Cincinnati this month, and we’re glad to be moving on. But despite the heat, the dog days in our household have included lots of highs along with lows.

Two weeks ago our friends Paula and Frank gave us tickets for an evening session at the Western and Southern Open tennis tournament out in Mason. Katja and I have been going to the tournament since the late 1970’s when it was called the A.T.P. We’ve seen Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Vitas Gerulaitis, and a host of other luminaries. As we arrived at the Lindner Tennis Center, we realized that this was the first time that we’ve been out in a big crowd in 18 months. At 6 p.m. the temperature was beastly hot, but Paula and Frank’s seats fortunately were in the luxury air-conditioned pavilion at the south end of Center Court. We were excited to see Coco Gauff and Matteo Berretini in person, and we splurged on $11 sandwiches for supper (a Greek gyro for Katja, pulled pork for me).

Two days later our son J flew up from New Orleans to go with us to quarter-final and semi-final sessions of the tournament. Due to a flight delay, he arrived in the wee hours of the morning on Friday. It turns out it is hard to get an Uber after midnight in Greater Cincinnati, but his insomniac parents were awake to greet him at 2:30 a.m. Our original plan had been for Katja to accompany J on Friday and for me to go on Saturday. However, with the heat index in the 90’s I went to both sessions with J while Katja enjoyed watching at home in our air-conditioned den. We saw Medvedev (the number one seed) and Rublev (the eventual men’s champion), along with women’s doubles matches featuring Ash Barty (#1) and Samantha Stosur. To combat the dog days we stopped at Frisch’s after the tournament on Friday for large chocolate shakes and on Saturday at Arby’s for Jamocha shakes.

In our off time J and I toured several of our favorite thrift stores: Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, the Valley Thrift. This is a father-son activity that goes back forty years or more. We both enjoy incomes that would allow us to buy new stuff at Kenwood Town Centre, but we seem to prefer searching for used treasures at bargain basement prices. J bought a couple of T-shirts with Cincinnati logos, while I browsed for kitschy figurines to add to my collection. The three of us had 4-ways at the Clifton Skyline on Sunday, and then we were off to the airport, the end to a visit that went by much too quickly. Our dog Iko cried when J (his former master) got out of the car to go into the airport, and we felt like crying too.

The following Monday we got up early to greet the plumbing crew who arrived to do a major project in our basement, including installing a new water heater and replacing all the hundred-year old pipes. I wasn’t exactly sure why we were doing this. Our heating/air conditioning package came with a free annual plumbing inspection, and the guy’s free advice was to spend ten thousand dollars to update our system. We just went along with it. The city water works people came first and shut off all water to our house. This meant no water, no flushable toilets, no tooth-brushing, no air conditioning. Because it was scheduled as a two-day job, I suggested we go camping, but Katja refuses to do this, especially with heat in the 90’s. Then we discussed whether to stay in the house while the work was being done or take the dog and retreat to a motel. We decided to stay at home. This might have been more my preference than Katja’s, but she didn’t protest too much. Temperatures quickly climbed to the high 80’s inside our house. Though we didn’t go camping, we wound up roughing it anyway.

The day after our plumbing had been replaced, the Sears guy came to fix the refrigerator. The ice maker had quit working, and I wasn’t able to unclog it. Also one of the shelves had come crashing down. The Sears guy unclogged the caked ice in a few minutes and that solved that problem. (I could have done that.) Then he pushed the loose shelf back into its socket. (I could have done that too.) Finally he pulled out the burnt-out lightbulbs in the stove hood and pushed the new lights in. (I could have done that if I knew how.) The job didn’t take long, but the bill was $182 just the same. I felt ashamed to be so unhandy, but I hid upstairs and avoided public humiliation.

Tonight we have reservations at the Chart House on Riverboat Row in Newport. It’s on the Ohio River with a grand view of the Cincinnati skyline, and we’ll be celebrating our 61st anniversary. A few months ago we wouldn’t have done this, but, with our vaccinations, we’re gradually venturing forth in the world.

The dog days of August have reached their end. For us, some of it’s been fun, some of it painful; some of it cheap, some of it expensive; some of it relaxing, some of it stressful. Overall, pretty much like the hodgepodge of life itself. LOVE, DAVE