Now, as the midpoint of summer rushes toward us, it is apparent that the days are drawing in. Dawn is more grudging with its earliest light, and evening shadows grow long before we are quite ready for darkness to come. July arrived only a moment ago, but we blinked, and now the month is packing its bags and soon will depart.

Tuesday brings August, the fulcrum point of the summer. The month of July settled into an accustomed seasonal routine of spectacular weather, crowded beaches, teeming sidewalks, and the busy leisure — no contradiction there — of concerts, dining out, fishing, cookouts, socializing and guilt-free naps. Most Islanders joined vacationers in all those pleasures except the naps.