August is waning and, thus, the dog days
of summer. Greek mythology has it that Sirius was Orion the Hunter’s dog; the Romans named the constellation of stars that informed his shape and marked his place in the sky Canis Major. Ancient cultures the world over saw in Canis Major either a dog or a wolf. As the brightest star in the sky, Sirius helped to identify the constellation because it occupied the tip of the dog’s snout: his nose. Unlike Rudolph, whose red nose lights the way for Santa’s sleigh in the winter, Sirius shines in the summer. It’s rising varies, although its first appearance is said to mark the beginning of the season’s hottest months, about six weeks during July and August.* Because of its association with sweltering heat and, I suppose, because dogs tend to seek cool refuge during such days, some long-ago wag dubbed this time of the season “the dog days.”
Today, folks often think of August as the dog days of summer because the mercury in the thermometer rises dramatically. Even so, this topic is moot, for we know that summerlong we might experience tropical rains; thunderous, chilly storms with darkness relieved by lightning; days when the air is still, the heat blistering as parched desert; and balmy days that are blueprints for paradise. Whether the days fulfill the stereotype, whatever measure of heat we feel, Sirius will be in the night skies with his nose to remind us that the dog days of August are indeed upon us.
This time of year, my thoughts turn to my parents. Dad, who relished the heat, was born on August 15. Mom, whose birthday is in October sought shade, fans, and air conditioning the way a dog seeks water after a marathon run. Nonetheless, she Mom tolerated heat for Dad’s sake, and they married on a dog day, August 11, in southern California. It was hot. Did they notice? I believe they were so in love neither cared a fig about the weather. Their internal climate was ideal. Anything that might have been otherwise was conveniently ignored. This was a wedding! Christmas! Chanukah! Thanksgiving Day and birthdays, all in one momentous twenty-four hours. Sirius shone down on them that night and there was magic. Against all manner of circumstance, they had found each other.
Our parents left this plane years ago now, and my missing them has changed over time. No less intense, it evolved from the complexities of early grief into a companionship. Pangs of longing there still are, prompted by the same things that spark nostalgia and recollection: a scent, a sight, a taste, a genuine and vivid memory that comes whole and suddenly for no discernible reason. The latter is one of my favorite visits, for visit is what my mom and dad’s presence feels like to me. I cannot make visits happen, only cherish them when they do. So, if August brings dog days, they are not too hot for me. They hold portent of welcome recollections and on their sweltering winds, when I am lucky, the ones who brought me into life return. Fanciful this may be, to think of them out walking the Great Dog, who guides them with his star-nose directly to me.
My own mythological dog, who figures most prominently in Glasses, Book 1 of The Ace and Monroe Trilogy, would make a fine constellation. Soloman’s extraordinary ears, wisdom, senses of smell and taste, all distinguish him from ordinary dogs. (So does his ability to navigate, fly, and speak a number of languages.) Perhaps he is no figment at all, but came to me for a while as my parents did and will, I hope, again. I may start scanning the skies for a suitable place and congregation of stars to honor Soloman. I believe when I do, my parents will be right there, feeding him celestial dog food, an ethereal approximation of his white lantana here on earth. The folks? Ma will be eating fudge and dad, raspberry sherbert. “Heaven!” they will say, and Soloman the Eyes will bark.
Whatever you call the dog days, I greet them with a floppy hat and number them too short.
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* The Internet has some good information about these hottest days and the terms used to define them. Fun to check out. Here's one site: https://www.ancient-origins.net/history
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