“Midnight Sun”

I’ve told this story before.

But it comes to mind each year as the calendar moves toward the longest day.

One evening in June, Mr. Kirsch, our next-door neighbor when I was in grade school, shared a secret with a group of kids from our block.

The Earth, it seemed, had wobbled out of its orbit. We were headed closer and closer to the Sun.

Had we noticed that there was a longer and longer duration of daylight? Yes, well it was a sign that the end was coming.

And there was nothing to be done about it.

Mr. Kirsch assured us it was all very hush-hush.

I cannot recall how many us believed him. But I don’t think any of us realized he was lifting his story from an episode of “The Twilight Zone.”

The pessimists among us might have reasoned it was just depressing enough to be true (even if we had a faint memory of the days getting longer each year). I mean, it was time for summer vacation. But no, our planet was going to burn up instead. It figures.

Sort of put fear of the H-bomb in perspective.