Summer not soon enough, but just around the bend

There's just something about the month of June. The warmer weather, the hint of summer in the air, and the beginning of a new era for many of our local teens; Whittell and Douglas high schools both host graduation ceremonies today at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.

I always get nostalgic around this special time of year. I remember so vividly the events that led up to my own high school graduation: senior prom, end-of-the-year projects, baccalaureate and other awards ceremonies, the signing of yearbooks. The air was full of promise and opportunity and I was looking forward to a carefree summer before packing up and heading off to college in the fall.

You can see it on the faces of many graduating seniors. Lurking not far behind that bleary eyed, "finals week" gaze is excitement and anticipation. They carry a look that says, "Here I come, world. Hope you're ready."

Congratulations to the class of 2007. You've worked hard to get this far. May you have the courage, fortitude and passion to pursue all your dreams.

Summer solstice

My son, Sam, asks me daily, "Is it summer yet, Mommy?"

He's getting impatient with my standard reply of, "Almost, honey!" It won't officially begin until the solstice, which occurs next Thursday, June 21.

The tilt of Earth's axis affects how much sunlight the different hemispheres receive throughout the year. Since the North Pole is closer to the sun on June 21 than at any other time during the year, this will be the longest day and shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Can you believe it? Once this day passes, the days start getting shorter.

Conversely, folks in the Southern Hemisphere will experience their winter solstice on this day, meaning they'll experience the shortest amount of daylight and their longest night of the year on June 21.

More email scams

In my last column I wrote about my experience with fraudulent email, also known as "phishing." Unfortunately, these attempts at scamming consumers out of their personal information are just getting more aggressive and more prevalent. I've received more fake emails in the last month than I have over the entire last year.

Most recently I was alerted by a message, supposedly from Bank of America, that they were "increasing their online security measures" and they'd placed my account on "restricted status." All I needed to do was click on the link provided, which would reroute me to another site where I could "resubmit" my address, account numbers, and other information.

Like the fake PayPal notice from last week, this email came complete with the Bank of America logo and official looking jargon at the bottom. It even had information about being FDIC insured.

Please be aware of these attempts at fraud. Don't ever give out any personal information when prompted in an email, and report suspicious emails to the companies that are being misrepresented whenever possible.

-- Amy Roby can be reached by e-mail at RanchosRoundup@hotmail.com