Mike

Ball

Read Mike's bio and previous columns here

June 23, 2008

There’s Just Something About The Solstice

Friday, June 20, was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. To farmers, this represents the midpoint of the growing season, half way between planting and the harvest. To Catholics it means that the solemn Feast of Saint John The Baptist is just a few days away.

And of course, for all you druids out there, it’s Party Time!

This year more than 28,000 people showed up at Stonehenge to stand watch until 4:48 a.m., when the first rays of the morning sun would emerge in perfect alignment with the giant stone astronomical “computer,” as they have on the sacred site for nearly 6,000 years. Of course, this “first rays of the sun” thing was purely theoretical, since the last cloudless morning in England is rumored to have occurred in 1089 A.D., during the reign of William II (also known as Rufus the Red).

Still, it appears that enough of the neo-pagans on the site had consumed enough neo-brewskis that they hardly noticed that little bit of Rain on the Salisbury Plain.

There are no details available about any kind of organized celebration at Carhenge, the faithful (more or less) replica of Stonehenge constructed from 38 cars sticking trunk-down out of the high plains near Alliance, Nebraska. One can only imagine the breathtaking sight of the Summer Solstice dawn breaking over the hood of a 1962 Cadillac.

Here in Whitmore Lake, the day was marked by an armada of small boats anchored on the sand bar throughout the day and evening, their occupants celebrating the most spiritual aspects of the summer solstice by ritually consuming coolers full of Budweiser and Mike’s Hard Lemonade. This floating party is marked by laughter, festive music and a strangely rapid rise in the temperature of the lake.

OK, please don’t bother sending me letters or emails to say, “Ewwwwwww.” There is absolutely no actual proof that this lake-al warming has anything to do with human activities. Didn’t you ever hear of volcanoes . . . in Whitmore Lake?

So now that the solstice is past and the summer has officially begun, we can get down to serious summer business. The tubes are inflated, the water skis and wake boards are out of mothballs, and some guy out there has a new boat sporting at least 1,000 watts of sound system with tower-mounted torpedo speakers, apparently designed so that nobody within three miles of the lake will have to miss hearing a single note of the guy’s favorite Brad Paisley CD.

I just have to mention that my friends and I intend to return the musical favor. We’ve scheduled the 2008 Concert for Lost Voices to retaliate, with the live music of Josh White Junior, Kitty Donohoe, Robert Jones, Matt Watroba, Guys With Guitars and other fine artists. The whole thing will start at 4 p.m. on Sunday, August 24. If you missed it last year, the Concert for Lost Voices was more fun than I can describe, and I would urge you to do anything in your power to make it out here this year.

Of course, all proceeds from the concert go to benefit Lost Voices, our non-profit organization founded to take creative workshops to incarcerated and at-risk kids. You will find more information about Lost Voices and the Concert at www.lostvoices.org.

Copyright © 2008, Michael Ball. Distributed exclusively by North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.