A Lighter View
Longest day...or not?
By K.E.H. Stagg

July 2, 2009

Everyone knows that June 21 is the day of the year with the most hours of daylight. Except that numerous expert sources insist that while this fact is true, June 21 isn’t actually the longest day of the year. Huh? Isn’t that like saying, “I’m not fat; I have heavy bones/glands/skin/intestines”? How can the day containing the most hours of daylight not be the longest day of the year?

I can understand that countries in the Southern Hemisphere have their longest day during what is our winter because it’s their summer. (That’s why birds fly south for the winter—they’re going for warmer, sunnier climes. But I digress!) I also get that the longest day of the year in Alaska has more daylight hours than Dillsburg does.

But the most hours of daylight not equaling the longest day of the year? C’mon. What’s up with that? It sounds like a serious case of political double-speak!

However longest day of the year is defined, I’m going with “most hours of daylight” and what interests me more than how the length of the day is calculated or what date the so-called experts land on, is what I can do with the extra hours of sun and light.

For example, on or about June 21, I have more time in which to tend the flower gardens, mulch beds and landscaping areas around my house. While some individuals view this activity as a chore, I like to think of it as free therapy. Without paying a dime to a licensed professional, I’m able to release aggression, frustration and all manner of ill will on the weeds, often employing a sharp metal object in rooting them out.

More hours of daylight on June 21 (or whatever day the experts settle on) also means the ability to cram more social activities into a 24-hour period: I can meet one set of friends for lunch, another for dinner and slide in a game of badminton before the sun sets.

Although some folks spend their extra daylight hours jetting from one exotic location to another, in today’s economic crisis I’m just as happy to risk sunburn by playing croquet on the front lawn or paddling around a friend’s outdoor pool. Dillsburg boasts athletic fields, a drive-in theatre, decks and benches for casual outdoor eating and the Appalachian Trail where the biggest risk is a sprained ankle; take your pick. Maximize those extra hours of daylight and don’t worry about the date on the calendar: you’re too late by some experts’ calculations to burn daylight, but you’re early by others!