Summer: Not A Vampire's Favorite Season

"Summer Fun"

That's an oxymoron.

I'm not at all certain what summer has going for it. First, there's the infestation of bugs. The parched drought-riddled landscape. The water restrictions. The stench of sizzling asphalt. The short tempers, endless sweating, and questionable attire.

Oh, let's not ignore the prolonged presence of painfully bright sunlight. Unrelenting sun leads to abysmal heat, cloying humidity... and hellacious sunburns. Yes, yes, I do know what it is like to be flame-broiled by the sun in under sixty minutes. No, no, charred flesh doesn't smell like chicken. It's a bit more like snake, if you must know.

I endure summer much like one endures a camp recital rife with mosquitoes and three-part sing-alongs. In truth, I've far more in common with Nosferatu than any beach bunny.

SUMMER LOVIN' HAD ME A BLAST

Ahhhh summer in GA when you are a big fella is kinda miserable. It's hot, it's humid, the days are long, and the bugs are mutant. But I do love the South and wouldn't really want to live permanently anywhere else. I just happen to like the Fall and Winter. But there is one thing that happens in the summer that the Tuck family looks forward to all year long....well, 3/4 of the Tuck family. That thing is DRAGONCON. Dragoncon is the Southeast's largest genre convention. It takes over whole city blocks in downtown Atlanta and turns Labor Day weekend into an endurance trial. There are 50,000 people who all show up and get their freak on and me and my family are right there with them. It's a chance to see costumes, wear costumes, buy your wardrobe for the year, meet people and hang out with awesome friends. Dragoncon is where me and Linda, my fellow word whore get to hang. I freaking love it and if you can, you should come down and join in the fun. It is the highlight of the year. Now I work it because of the writing and that impacts the amount of fanboy-ness I get to indulge in, but I love that too. Here are pics to show the awesome. Late night Werewolf panel where me, Linda Robertson, J F Lewis, and Stephen Swinarski acted like the rock stars we are. My son as a zombiefied hunter who was sad to be eating pizza instead of brains. Dragoncon is one of the few times a year that my loverly wife will wear jewelry in her septum piercing. Damn it is HOT! Conor as a ninja in a Warehouse 13 shirt....at Dragoncon he was perfectly normal. This past year I got to moderate some panels including this one with Sara Canning from The Vampire Diaries (which I am a fan of) And you can round a corner and find things like this going on!

How this Writer "Plays Beach"

This week's theme is "summer fun" - and the topic nominator thoughtfully suggested such examples as swimming, boating, etc.

*Ahem*

I live in a desert, people!

Looks like I'll take "etc."

And the above is what I do. I set up my big beach umbrella and my slatted lounge chair. Sometimes I make white wine spritzers and read in my chair all day. David refers to it as me "playing beach."

A girl does what she has to do.

It actually works pretty well. Summer for me is about enjoying the warmth, the flowers, the birds and lizards. I also like sitting under the grape arbor or on the front porch, reading or writing.

I guess that's what it comes down to for me. A fun summer weekend isn't about heading to the lake - though I do love to spend a day at WaterWorld once in a while - it's about getting to spend some time at home, doing the things I love to do.

Playing beach is just one of them.