There's no time to waste!

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, our side of the earth is tilted very much toward the sun right now, and so we are blessed with lots and lots of daylight.

So, how best to take advantage of what is, in a way, the longest weekend of the year?

Well, here's an idea:

1. Take Friday off work. Fly to New York City. Yes, I know: it's clear across the country and that will take all day! Sorry. Take a deck of cards and play cards with your wife to pass the time.

2. Wake up at 7:00 AM on Saturday morning (you're not mistaken: it does feel like 4:00 AM), and head out for a round of golf.

   Make sure you go to Saint Andrews in Hastings, a spectacular Jack Nicklaus-designed masterpiece that is one of the most beautiful courses you'll ever play in your life.

   Heh. Perhaps you should have paid more attention when you took those golf lessons 10 years ago. Let's just not keep score.

   

3. Zip back by the house and change, then by 11:30 get on the road, heading into the Bronx, to take in a baseball game at (the new) Yankee Stadium. What a beautiful facility! Make sure you bring lots of sunblock, as the New York City summer is full of bright sunshine.

   It helps if you have a diehard Yankees fan among your group; she can tell you all about Didi, and why Aaron Judge is playing DH rather than the outfield today, and what makes Luis Severino perhaps the best pitcher in baseball this year.

   Go ahead, buy a bright pink NY Yankees ball cap for your wife. You're locals now!

4. After the game, find a nice quiet spot and rest for a bit. The sun took it out of you a little, and, heck: you've earned a short break.

5. As soon as you're re-charged, back into the car, for we're heading over to Queens now! Today we are going to visit both Major League ballparks, for it so happens that tonight is a concert by the revitalized Dead and Company. You've been hearing a lot about John Mayer, and it's time to see (hear) for yourself. Although (the renovated) Shea Stadium is quite a bit older than Yankee Stadium, it is also a beautiful facility, and before long you're down on the infield, waiting for the band to start.

   It's been a long time since you were a regular Dead Head, and to your embarassment you've forgotten plenty: you don't recognize The Eleven when it's played; you get Sugar Magnolia and Sunshine Daydream all jumbled up in your mind; you can't remember whether Eyes of the World was on Wake of the Flood or Blues for Allah; and so forth.

   But it's a warm, balmy New York City summer night, and there you are hanging out on the infield with 30,000 of your new best friends, and you're just amazed at what a difference modern technology has made for the audio-visual elements of a big stadium show. John Mayer is everything everyone has said he is: tremendous talent, boundless energy, and bubbling over with joy at his new gig. It's not Jerry Garcia's band anymore, it's John Mayer's, but, perhaps surprisingly, that's a pretty good thing!

6. It's midnight now, and the show is over, and you suddenly realize you haven't eaten all day, and you're starving. No worries: this is the City That Never Sleeps, remember?

   Walking out of Shea Stadium, you realize it's just a half-mile walk down across the bridge to the Koreatown section of Queens, doing it's best to make you feel like you're in the Gangnam District of Seoul. Here, the restaurants are open until 3:00 AM, so you dive into a hot-and-piping dinner while you dissect the show with your friends.

7. Back home at last, you realize it's 2:00 AM, and you've just spent the busiest and most action-packed 19 hours you're ever likely to spend. Go head, lie down; what a day!

Well, I don't know, it's certainly not for everyone, but what a day it was for me!