Summertime is wonderful for many things, not the least of which is the delightful sound of children playing all throughout the neighborhood.

Children laughing and giggling as they're racing along the sidewalk. And then suddenly, almost without warning, the wind turns cold, and the streets become empty.

The echoes of joy and laughter have gone from the neighborhood streets, replaced by the clanging chains hitting the road as the buses roll on by.

You can almost hear the pied piper of schooldom prancing through the streets, enchanting the young ones away, far away, far from their parents and homes.

The streets are quiet and empty.