Long dreaded, unwelcome guest nears in changing times

Am I mistaken, or has this been an exceptionally hot summer? Every time I've gone outdoors in the daytime it's like a reverse solar energy saps the snap from my pace.

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike heat. I've generally sought it out. Over the years, I've resettled my family on a steamy Caribbean island, the high, and bone dry, desert of the American West, the scorching flatlands of Texas, and an arid inland California burg where locals joke that it's getting chilly if summer temperatures drop to 40 C - never a problem.

But this summer has been different.