Summer is a Bummer

 

When I began a new job at the University of Akron TV Center in 1975, I first encountered the phrase “…summer is a bummer.” The staff and students used this phrase a lot when I started there in August of that year.

 

I found out the meaning of that phrase when I looked at the weekly production schedule. There was studio shoot almost every day for the first three weeks of August. At that time UA was offering most of its General Education courses on a closed circuit video system that transmitted the videotaped lectures to large lecture halls throughout campus.

 

For the TV Center staff and students, summer was the busiest time. Each professor who taught one of these courses worked with a staff producer-director to record more than a dozen 40-to-45-minute course lectures between mid-May when the spring semester ended and early August. These lectures were fully produced TV shows with visuals, charts, graphs and some film clips to support the subject matter. The idea was to complete the lectures a couple of weeks before the fall semester so each faculty member would have a couple of weeks off before fall classes started.

 

UA’s enrollment was exploding in the mid-1970s as the former municipal college grew from about 10,000 students in the mid-60s to about 23,000 students in 1975. In 1967, UA became a full-fledged state-supported university and that fueled the tremendous growth.

 

The point is that the first few years I worked at UA Pam and I didn’t take long summer vacations, but would schedule them for other breaks in the year. Because, Brian hadn’t been born yet, we didn’t have to consider his school schedule in our vacation plans.

 

What I’m trying to say now is: “…this summer is a bummer…” because of the things we’ve missed due to the COVID-19 pandemic: a planned European or Asian trip for our 50^th Anniversary, a 50-year class reunion at Miami University, Cleveland Orchestra concerts at Blossom Music Center, Akron Rubberducks baseball games with my season ticket group and our monthly poker games, have all been cancelled.

 

Because most of my friends are 70-ish and some of us have other health problems, we are leery about going where there are crowds. So, I spend most of my time at home.

 

So, how do I keep occupied? I do have occasional freelance writing assignment and I have a personal goal of posting a blog at least once a month. I begin each morning perusing the local newspaper (yes, I still read the Akron Beacon Journal every day!) and then looking at news, email, Facebook and Linked-In on my phone while I finish breakfast and have a second cup of coffee.

 

Then depending on which day it is, and that takes some thought sometimes, I decide on other things I want to do. Twice a week, I visit Akron General Lifestyles for strength training on the machines. On other days, I use the exercycle in our basement while listening to classic rock on Amazon Prime. Two or three days a week after lunch, I get in my car and go for a drive through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park or some other area nearby. Occasionally, I will take my laptop along and stop and do some writing. I have met friends for coffee a few times, but always outside at a safe distance.

 

Two things I wanted to do this year were make my debut as a standup comic and complete a book project I started last year while I was in El Paso.

 

Last fall, I took a basic acting class and an improvisational acting class at the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood to prepare for this. I have written three five-minute monologs for my debut. While I was in Las Vegas, I scouted a couple of places that had amateur nights and was close to getting up the courage to perform at one of them when the news of the pandemic made things more urgent and I decided to return home a couple of weeks early.

 

Now, even though a local comedy club that has an amateur night is open again, I consider going to a bar too dangerous. I am considering video recording these monologs and posting them online and I will be sure to let you know when I do that.

 

The book is pretty much written, but I am looking for a professional editor to correct errors in grammar, punctuation and syntax before it it published. It is a work of historical fiction and I hope I can get it done by the end of the year. I’ve had a couple of relatives and one former coworker read it and they gave mostly positive reviews and some good suggestions. But, I still want a dispassionate, professional editor to evaluate it.

 

I know a lot of people have suffered a great deal and 175,000 people have lost their lives because of COVID-19, so my issues during the last few months are pretty trivial. But still, the lost opportunities of this summer are disappointing. However, Pam, Brian and I have all remained healthy and that’s the most important thing.

 

Stay safe and I hope the rest of your summer is a good one, not a bummer.