Today is the First Day of Summer

1. Break out your sunglasses! While Thursday marked the summer solstice – or the longest day of 2013 – today, Friday, June 21, represents the first official day of summer. According to the Washington Post, the sun can be seen straight overhead along the Tropic of Cancer at 1:04 a.m. EDT Friday, the same point where the northern hemisphere (and North Pole) sees its maximum tilt toward the sun.

2. The weatherman says ... The first day of summer is greeted today by abundant sunshine with a forecasted high, according to Weather.com, of 86 degrees with a 20-percent chance of rain and an overnight low of 61 degrees.

3. Summer reading program kicks off today! Looking for something educational and productive to occupy your children's time this summer? The Bedford Public Library's 2013 summer reading program kicks off today with clown/mime Brent McCoy, who brings his "spectacular circus skills, ridiculous physical comedy, and an amazing sense of balance" to the Old Bedford Town Hall from 1:30-2:15 p.m. For more details, visit the library's official website here.

4. BCTV selling BHS graduation DVDs. Did your son or daughter receive a Bedford High School diploma Saturday morning? Relive the entire experience through BCTV's professional lens. The studio is selling DVDs of BHS's 2013 commencement for $20. Get more information here.

5. On this day ... June 21, 1988, the United States Constitution was ratified when New Hampshire became ninth state to approve the document. According to History.com:

By 1786, defects in the post-Revolutionary War Articles of Confederation were apparent, such as the lack of central authority over foreign and domestic commerce. Congress endorsed a plan to draft a new constitution, and on May 25, 1787, the Constitutional Convention convened at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. On September 17, 1787, after three months of debate moderated by convention president George Washington, the new U.S. constitution, which created a strong federal government with an intricate system of checks and balances, was signed by 38 of the 41 delegates present at the conclusion of the convention. As dictated by Article VII, the document would not become binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 states.

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