Ringing The Post - Ain't No Cure

July and August are the time of year when people throughout the United States and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere leave their homes and jobs to go on vacation.  Whether they go to a beach, national park, or just somewhere to escape the heat, they attempt to relax and enjoy themselves.  This is also the time of year that hardcore hockey fans typically find themselves in a depressive state.  It's the dead zone between development camps and rookie camps.  For regular fans, the depression tends to last even longer, from the draft to opening night of the regular season.

Many times we tell ourselves that this puck wasteland is a blessing in disguise.    We tell ourselves it will be a nice change of pace.  We can watch a baseball game, catch up on some reading, or do the vacation thing like everyone else.  It will allow of us to do other things and reconnect with the non-hockey lovin' folks we know. 

When we try and explain it to them, non-hockey people struggle to understand the depths of our depression We eventually reach the point where we become philosophical and start quoting the Roman poet Sextus Propetrius who wrote the words "Semper in absentes felicior aestus amantes" over 2,000 year ago. These words still apply today:  "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Just don't fret too much. The 2011-12 NHL season will be here before you know it. And if even that doesn't help, maybe the best thing to do is check out the Twitter hashtag #isitoctoberyet.  Ther may be no cure, but at least you'll realize you are not in your suffering.