Heavy Heart Welcomes 2021’s Last Desert Sunrise

Palm Springs, CA 6:44:50 AM, Twin Palms Drive @ South Palm Canyon Rd.

I’m one of those people that loves summer. Guilty. And while I’m flooded with great memories of summers spent in Chicago and Richmond as a child, I’ve grown to love the insanely intense summers in Palm Springs.

I’ve romanticized the summer months since I was a child. Even through my twenties, thirties, and forties — when summer vacations were practically non-existent due to work and other adult things — I found a way to LOVE mid-June through mid-September. You can keep the fall leaves, first snowfall, change of seasons, sweaters, spring flowers, bla, bla, bla. Just give me long summer nights where the sun doesn’t set until 8:20 PM, hot and steamy days, fireflies, the smell of Coppertone, outdoor music — and I’m a happy camper. Add a roadtrip to the mix; I’m in heaven.

As I took this picture at the corner of South Palm Canyon @ E La Verne Way around 6:45 AM, I suddenly regressed into that 10-year old boy overcome with the confusing feelings that accompany the harsh summer-end reality.

Published by

Ray J. Kelly

A writer, communications specialist, children's book author, and em-dash enthusiast, Ray lives in Palm Springs, CA.