Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1913-07-17
For The Good Old Summer
Time


Time
Most men F'let down. when hot
weather comes They won't pay as
close attention to business, nor work 80
hard. nor keep so firm a grip on them
selves as they do in cold weather.
Heat is relaxing. It gives one the ten
dency to be lax. to cease resistance, to
drift. Men with bad habits are likely
to indulge them more freely in midsum-
mer. They drink-more, smoke more,
loaf more Hot weather is q great
strain on good morals. 1t gets into the
blood as we'll as the bones. and all the
time we have to fight it to stand up
right.
We say hot weather is behind al
these things Perhaps we are not
right about that. 1t is, possiblya COM
bination Of hot weather and unwise
eating and drinking If we could cut
out bad habits and shift our diet with
the seasons, and knew just how and
what to eat to fit the weather the Ian
guor and laziness and general sense of
unftness which Expresses us all more
or less when under hot skies, would all
disappear, and we would feel fresh and
fit as ever we did on frosty fall morn
ing.
Many men work the same hours in
summer as in winter-from seven to
twelve and from one to FIVE. No doubt
from five to ten and from three to sew
en- would be better, with good sleep
from eleven to two in midday. That
ought to keep fellow reasonably fresh
all summer. Nearly all hot countries
find the midday sleep necessity. It
seems to relieve the pressure of the
weather.
Suppose all the stores and Offices and
factories closed from 10 in the morning
until three in the afternoon, during mid
summer, but were kept busy the full
nine hours in the mornin and evening.
Can anyone doubt that they would do
just as much business and do it under
far more comfortable circumstances?
But we would none of US stand for it.,
We were all brought up to keep going
from breakfast time until supper. re-
gardIess the Gather. and so We will
go until we wear out in stubborn pride
of habit, if nothing else
Ard to 9 ep at midt .. = hat is su 9
sign Of lazy man, we think And yet
some of the greatest workers are the
fellows who take the relaxation and the
refreshment of an hours sleep at noon
just before the midday meal. Did you
ever try it? Neither did we, but we
know it must be good, and that it adds
to the lives of those who can make it a
habit. And that it is pleasant all the
vast army of Sunday sleepers will agree.
Too many Sunday sleepers catch up
during the forenoon, which is mis-
take. In hot weather the hours from
four to eleven in the morning are far
and away the best part of the day.,
Rise early on Sunday morning. Catch
and sniff the freshness of the air, and
if you have Sunday duties to perform do
them ere the sun crosses the meridian.
Get them off of your mind before din
ner. After absorbing your quota of
chicken and pudding and the other
things your system calls for. retire to
the coolest room in the house, or to
some grassy, shady hilltop. Assume a
horizontal position but never under any
circumstances ''lie prone on your back =
Do not do this for the same reason that
you never rest your chin on your elbow.
It is not good form. 1t is impolite.
It is impossible. Arrange the scenery
about your temporary couch in such a
way that no bugs or insects can violate
your privacy, if you are in the open.
If at home. have all the flies tied up
out doors for Sunday airing, before
you lie down. Then lower yourself
carefully. along with the chicken and
gravy and other stuff you have on board
until you gently hit the hay in perfect
trim for sleep that will soak you
through and through for about four
hours. It will give you one-a-week taste
of the joy of living you might have
every day during the summer if people
just had sense enough to make their
hours Of work conform to weather con-,
ditions and give themselves from say
eleven in the a. m. until three in the
p. M, as the schoolboy puts it, for lunch
and blooming snooze.
The only objection to this brilliant
suggestion of ours is that SO many
people want to do all their sleeping at
night-the pleasant hours in which to
be awake in summer-and hate so Wig
orously to get up early in the morning.
The man who rises with the English
sparrow, breaks his fast with food
suited to the work he has to perform,
and gets busy about 4:30 or 5 a. M, is
the man who has an honest days work
three fourths done before the dinner
bells are ringing at IL o'clock sun time
on the farms. He is the man who gets
the best of summer day, and may
rest for hours in the heat of the day
when laggards who get started at Z, 8,
or 9, are hard at it and driven to cover