Summer: a bike without brakes

In the 70s every pair of sneakers I owned was missing the rubber along the right toe guard. Our bikes didn't have brakes and to stop you'd have to pedal backwards while your ride slowly coasted to an end. However, if you were speeding along without a care and suddenly needed to stop, dragging your big toe along the pavement was the best and quickest solution. My sister used this method once when she was wearing flip flops, and she nearly lost her foot.

Summer is like a bike without brakes. We've been speeding along, carefree in our freedom, hoping to coast to a slow and painless ending. Suddenly the State Fair has sprung up ahead and I'm dragging my foot along the road hoping I can eke out a few more moments of grandeur, a few more lazy mornings with an iced coffee and the morning newspaper, a few more afternoons hiking through the hills with the hot sun on my skin, a few more endless nights outside at the grill or around the fire. I am gripping the season like a kid hangs on to her Huffy's handlebars, unwilling to put my bike away and say goodnight.