July begins
01/07/22 03:14
I guess it depends on how you do the numbers. If you simply count the months and divide them in half, six months have passed and six remain, making today, July 1, the beginning of the second half of the year. There are a number of news stories in the headlines that make that assumption. The US economy begins the second half of the year today, according to the New York Times. Using this method of counting, however, leaves us with 181 days in he first half of the year and 184 days in the second half of the year. The difference lies in February, which has 28 days when it is not leap year. Both halves of the year have two months with 30 days, and the rest with 31 except for February. February means that there are three fewer days in the first half of the year than the second.
Technically, if the year begins at midnight, the second half of the year would begin at noon on July 2. Since there are 365 days in the year, when it isn’t leap year, 182 and 1/2 days is half of a year. In leap years, with 366 days, the second half of the year begins at midnight when the day turns from July 2 to July 3.
I’m pretty sure that most people don’t give that kind of trivia much thought. I only became aware of it because of a conversation I had many years ago, when I was a child, with my father. He made the claim that my mother’s birthday, which was July 3, was the first day of the second half of the year. The claim was technically accurate only in leap years and I have no recollection whether or not it was a leap year when he made the claim. Since July is after my birthday, if the conversations occurred when I was 5 or 9 or 13 or 17, it would have been leap year.
It is a silly thought, really. July 1 is close enough to the mid point of the year that it works for journalists to make their stories as if we begin the second half of the year today. We all know what they mean when they do.
For the record, 1776 was a leap year, so July 3 would have marked the beginning of the second half of the year, which is slightly poetic in my way of thinking, since although we think of July 4 as Independence Day because it was the day of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress actually voted Independence from Britain on July 2 and adopted the language of the Declaration on July 4. The day in between, July 3, was a Wednesday that year, for what that is worth.
With July 4 falling on a Monday this year, today is the start of a long 4th of July weekend for some in the United States. As usual, the country will be celebrating with picnics, fireworks, a bit of flag waving and family get-togethers.
I hope to spend a little bit of time over the weekend trying to figure out a small problem with the flag pole on our son’s garage. His garage faces another out building on his farm, with a driveway between. On the garage is a flag pole with the flag of the United States. On the building across the way is a flag pole with the flag of Washington State. The Washington State flag pole is the newer of the two and the flag swivels on the pole. High winds don’t seem to tangle the flag. The pole with the US flag is slightly larger, but has a swivel mechanism to prevent the flag from wrapping around the pole. Somehow, however, it doesn’t always work. The pole is too high to reach without the assistance of a ladder, so untangling it is a bit of an effort. I’ve tried several ways to prevent the flag from wrapping around the pole, but so far have not solved the problem. I could, of course, simply purchase a new pole matching the one with the Washington Flag, but it seems wasteful for me to do so. I’d like to just get the other pole to work properly.
Perhaps since I’ve been pondering this small problem, I have noticed that a lot of flags around our area get tangled on their poles pretty easily. This seems especially true of flag poles that are attached to the side of buildings, with the pole extending at an angle.
It isn’t just flags wrapped around their poles that I notice. I also have noticed that there are a lot of torn and soiled flags being flown. Torn flags are especially evident on the backs of pickup trucks where they are abused by being driven down the freeway at 70 mph. It seems that the display of the flag, usually a sign of patriotism, has become a different kind of political symbol, often denoting a particular set of right-wing views. I’m not sure how the symbol of American Democracy became a sign of a person’s embracing of unfounded election fraud theories, but it has. I’ve begun to associate torn flags and poor flag etiquette with particular political opinions.
There is a box at the fire station where flags that have become torn or soiled can be deposited. Once a year the Boy Scouts and a local American Legion group hold a ceremony for the disposal of used flags with all of the ceremony of proper flag etiquette. It is an easy task to retire a used flag and replace it with a new one. Somehow, however, there are a lot of people who don’t follow this protocol.
No matter how you count, however, the weekend invites a bit of serious thinking about the meaning of democracy and the hard work that is required to protect and defend our unique form of government. The last few years have seen unprecedented attacks on American democracy and a significant erosion of the rights guaranteed by the constitution. This weekend is a good time for a bit of reflection and rededication. May this be the beginning not only of the second half of the year, but also of a fresh commitment to the principles of democratic government.
Technically, if the year begins at midnight, the second half of the year would begin at noon on July 2. Since there are 365 days in the year, when it isn’t leap year, 182 and 1/2 days is half of a year. In leap years, with 366 days, the second half of the year begins at midnight when the day turns from July 2 to July 3.
I’m pretty sure that most people don’t give that kind of trivia much thought. I only became aware of it because of a conversation I had many years ago, when I was a child, with my father. He made the claim that my mother’s birthday, which was July 3, was the first day of the second half of the year. The claim was technically accurate only in leap years and I have no recollection whether or not it was a leap year when he made the claim. Since July is after my birthday, if the conversations occurred when I was 5 or 9 or 13 or 17, it would have been leap year.
It is a silly thought, really. July 1 is close enough to the mid point of the year that it works for journalists to make their stories as if we begin the second half of the year today. We all know what they mean when they do.
For the record, 1776 was a leap year, so July 3 would have marked the beginning of the second half of the year, which is slightly poetic in my way of thinking, since although we think of July 4 as Independence Day because it was the day of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress actually voted Independence from Britain on July 2 and adopted the language of the Declaration on July 4. The day in between, July 3, was a Wednesday that year, for what that is worth.
With July 4 falling on a Monday this year, today is the start of a long 4th of July weekend for some in the United States. As usual, the country will be celebrating with picnics, fireworks, a bit of flag waving and family get-togethers.
I hope to spend a little bit of time over the weekend trying to figure out a small problem with the flag pole on our son’s garage. His garage faces another out building on his farm, with a driveway between. On the garage is a flag pole with the flag of the United States. On the building across the way is a flag pole with the flag of Washington State. The Washington State flag pole is the newer of the two and the flag swivels on the pole. High winds don’t seem to tangle the flag. The pole with the US flag is slightly larger, but has a swivel mechanism to prevent the flag from wrapping around the pole. Somehow, however, it doesn’t always work. The pole is too high to reach without the assistance of a ladder, so untangling it is a bit of an effort. I’ve tried several ways to prevent the flag from wrapping around the pole, but so far have not solved the problem. I could, of course, simply purchase a new pole matching the one with the Washington Flag, but it seems wasteful for me to do so. I’d like to just get the other pole to work properly.
Perhaps since I’ve been pondering this small problem, I have noticed that a lot of flags around our area get tangled on their poles pretty easily. This seems especially true of flag poles that are attached to the side of buildings, with the pole extending at an angle.
It isn’t just flags wrapped around their poles that I notice. I also have noticed that there are a lot of torn and soiled flags being flown. Torn flags are especially evident on the backs of pickup trucks where they are abused by being driven down the freeway at 70 mph. It seems that the display of the flag, usually a sign of patriotism, has become a different kind of political symbol, often denoting a particular set of right-wing views. I’m not sure how the symbol of American Democracy became a sign of a person’s embracing of unfounded election fraud theories, but it has. I’ve begun to associate torn flags and poor flag etiquette with particular political opinions.
There is a box at the fire station where flags that have become torn or soiled can be deposited. Once a year the Boy Scouts and a local American Legion group hold a ceremony for the disposal of used flags with all of the ceremony of proper flag etiquette. It is an easy task to retire a used flag and replace it with a new one. Somehow, however, there are a lot of people who don’t follow this protocol.
No matter how you count, however, the weekend invites a bit of serious thinking about the meaning of democracy and the hard work that is required to protect and defend our unique form of government. The last few years have seen unprecedented attacks on American democracy and a significant erosion of the rights guaranteed by the constitution. This weekend is a good time for a bit of reflection and rededication. May this be the beginning not only of the second half of the year, but also of a fresh commitment to the principles of democratic government.
