The Morning: Summer’s down elevator

August 13, 2022

Good morning. Here's how to make the most of the last weeks of summer, whether you're dreading its end or dancing about it.

Allie Sullberg

Enjoy the ride

We're nearing the middle of August, summer at its ripest. Earlier this week, a New York weather Twitter account issued a reminder that, depending on your disposition, could be taken as good tidings or as a bit of a bummer:

I'm in the latter camp, but I'm working through it. A lifelong partisan of summer's long days, I try not to feel cross at those who come alive when the light gets lower. I try not to feel personally attacked by the candy corn display in the drugstore, by Billy Crystal in his fisherman sweater and sweatpants.

Recently, my colleague Sam Sifton and I were discussing the matter of summer's passing, and when I began to get rueful, he stopped me. "We're not in the down elevator just yet," he said. This was at the end of July, and I agreed. There were still six weeks till Labor Day. We were still in the middle of the ascent.

So rather than pressing every floor's button trying vainly to make the elevator stop, I'm determined to enjoy the ride.

First off, it's peak corn on the cob and Caprese season, time to go full tomato mode. It's also s'mores season, and I'm excited to try replacing graham crackers with saltines, as my colleague Tanya Sichynsky suggested, for a slightly less-sweet treat. There's still plenty of summer left: time for letting your mind wander, for hitting Coney Island, for tracking the migrations of ships and sharks.

Another way to stave off the sense of things ending: Make plans. This is the time to book a trip, to fill your calendar with meet-ups and movies, to plant seeds that will blossom when the weather turns colder. "Imagining good things ahead of us makes us feel better in the current moment," the psychologist Simon A. Rego told The Times.

At Sam's recommendation, I checked out Robert McCloskey's 1958 Caldecott Medal-winning "Time of Wonder" from the library. It's a picture book about a summer spent on the islands of Maine. The book captures well that wistfulness of loving summer and leaving it behind: "Take a farewell look at the waves and sky. Take a farewell sniff of the salty sea. A little bit sad about the place you are leaving, a little bit glad about the place you are going."

For more

Read Daisy Alioto on Billy Crystal's sweater look in "When Harry Met Sally …"
See how sunrise and sunset times are determined.
Try out some mindfulness experts' meditations for the end of summer.
Here are four movies about summer to stream now.

THE WEEK IN CULTURE

"House of the Dragon" is set nearly 200 years before "Game of Thrones."HBO

Can "House of the Dragon" be the next "Game of Thrones"? George R.R. Martin and HBO are about to find out. (Here's a primer.)
Athleisure and leggings owe a debt to Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" video. She died this week at 73.
Issey Miyake was the original champion of fashion tech — and designed Steve Jobs's signature black turtleneck. Miyake died this month at 84.
The Orlando Museum of Art, where the F.B.I. seized 25 paintings attributed to Jean-Michel Basquiat, has canceled three shows and may lose donors.
The creators of "Hamilton" protested after a Texas church introduced Christian themes into a production of the musical.
Bold acting choices, like auditioning in costume, helped Julia Lester secure the role of Little Red Riding Hood in a Broadway revival of "Into the Woods."
He was suspected of trafficking antiquities. He invited the authorities to inspect some.
The six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald will return to Broadway this fall in "Ohio State Murders," Vulture reports.
Lamont Dozier wrote "You Can't Hurry Love" and dozens of other Motown hits. He died this week at 81.

THE LATEST NEWS

Donald Trump leaving Trump Tower in New York this week.Brittainy Newman for The New York Times

The search of Donald Trump's Florida residence was part of an investigation into possible violations of the Espionage Act.
The man killed by the police after he tried to breach the F.B.I.'s Cincinnati office had been under investigation for possible involvement in the Jan. 6 attack.
The House passed Democrats' health care, climate and tax bill, sending it to President Biden.
The author Salman Rushdie was stabbed onstage in western New York, where he was about to give a lecture.
The actress Anne Heche, who had been in a coma since a car crash last week, was declared brain-dead.
Polio was found in wastewater samples from New York City, suggesting that it is circulating in the city.

Journalism like this is only possible with subscribers.

Support the reporting that goes into The Morning. Become a subscriber today.

CULTURE CALENDAR

By Gilbert Cruz

🍿 "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (limited engagement starting this weekend): August is often a terrible month for new movies, but we're in a particularly dry spell at the moment. I know what I'll be doing this weekend, though: taking my kid to see the 40th anniversary rerelease of this classic Steven Spielberg film, which is playing at select IMAX screen locations across the country. Everyone, I watched the trailer and the music made me tear up. The music. (I will also be seeing "Jaws" when it gets a rerelease on IMAX screens, starting Sept. 2.)

📚 "Heat 2" (out now): If you know a guy who likes crime dramas, then you might know someone who likes "Heat," the epic — in length, at least — 1995 film starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer. (There's an easy test to discern whether or not someone likes "Heat." Just say the line "For me, the action is the juice" and see whether or not they smile in recognition.) The director Michael Mann has now published a novel with the thriller writer Meg Gardiner that serves as both prequel and sequel to the film. I'm so excited to read this that I looked at my copy the other day and said, "Brother, you are going down." (Just to be clear, that's also a line from "Heat.")

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Bryan Gardner for The New York Times

By Melissa Clark

Coconut Rice With Shrimp and Corn

My family just returned from a nearly two-week vacation, and I have to admit, easing back into the nightly ritual of cooking dinner has been a challenge. Happily, Samantha Seneviratne has my back with her delightful one-pot coconut rice with shrimp and corn. Although you can make it in winter with frozen corn, it's really sensational with the fresh corn that's available right now. Her tip for cutting the kernels off the cob is my go-to method: Lay the cob flat on the cutting board for slicing, rather than standing it upright; it's much faster and less messy. The coconut milk adds just the right richness here, balanced with jalapeño, ginger and loads of fresh lime juice and zest. It's a satisfying combination, all year long.

A selection of New York Times recipes is available to all readers. Please consider a Cooking subscription for full access.

REAL ESTATE

Left, Jennifer Gessner; top right, Realkit for Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty; bottom right, Tom Ludemann/Drone Home Media

What you get for $575,000: an eight-bedroom house in Springfield, Mass.; a 1913 home in New Orleans; or a three-bedroom bungalow in Atlanta.

The hunt: She wanted a starter apartment in Brooklyn. Which did she choose? Play our game.

Urban planning: A D.C. neighborhood is trying to build a park without displacing its residents.

Inside out: A garden in Rhode Island makes rooms out of the landscape to create calm and focus.

LIVING

Joey Boyd-Scott, left, and her wife, Maria, both have part-time travel jobs.Beth Coller for The New York Times

Shameless about the perks: Retirees are seeing Europe at a fraction of the usual cost — by working part-time.

Outdoor dining: This lamp is taking over New York.

Mile high and on the rise: Festivals are resuming and new hotels and restaurants are opening in Denver.

Ready to eat: Twenty-four freezer-friendly recipes to cook for new parents.

Why not try: Standing on one leg. It could extend your life.

GAME OF THE WEEKEND

Aaron Judge.Desiree Rios/The New York Times

New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox, M.L.B.: Aaron Judge is having the season of his life. Heading into this series with the Red Sox, Judge had 45 home runs. That's not just the most in the league — it's also on pace to break the Yankees' single-season record of 61, set by Roger Maris in 1961. "It doesn't cease to amaze, the season he's putting together," Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said recently. 7 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, ESPN.

For more:

The Times's Benjamin Hoffman has been tracking every home run Judge hits.
Sure, the Yankees are great. But are the Mets the best team in New York?

NOW TIME TO PLAY

The pangram from yesterday's Spelling Bee was doughnut. Here is today's puzzle.

Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week's headlines.

Here's today's Wordle. After, use our bot to get better.

Before You Go …

Take a look at the love notes and other mementos a librarian has found in books.
Don't miss Tad Friend's profile of a successful door-to-door salesman in The New Yorker.

Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa

Matthew Cullen, Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Ashley Wu contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com.