Willard Herman Scott Jr.:
(March 7, 1934 – September 4, 2021).
American weather presenter, radio and television personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, whose broadcast career spanned 68 years, 65 years with the NBC broadcast network. Scott was best known as a weather reporter on NBC’s Today show where he also celebrated US centenarian birthdays and notable anniversaries. Scott was the creator and original performer of McDonald’s mascot clown Ronald McDonald.
August depresses me a little. I don’t even feel like eating. And when I don’t eat, that’s a sure sign of stagnation.
It’s a light, wry bit of self-observation rather than a profound philosophical statement. Scott describes what people sometimes call the “August blues” or end-of-summer slump — that mild, hard-to-pin-down low mood some people get as summer winds down (vacations ending, the year’s momentum stalling, school looming). He uses his own appetite as a personal barometer:
when he doesn’t feel like eating, he takes it as proof that something in him has gone flat or “stagnant” — not seriously depressed, just stuck, unmotivated, treading water. It’s a homespun, slightly self-mocking way of naming a feeling many people recognize but rarely put into words.
Origin:
The line comes from his 1988 memoir “America Is My Neighborhood”, co-written with Daniel Paisner and published by Fireside. It’s one of many casual, chatty reflections in that book, and has since been widely recycled in online “August quotes” lists — usually stripped of any context from the original memoir.
Author:
The quote belongs to Willard Scott, the American TV weatherman and personality. He was best known for his work on the Today show and as the creator and original portrayer of Ronald McDonald. He was famous for his folksy, warm, self-deprecating on-air style — chatting about weather, family, and everyday life rather than hard news — which matches the tone of this quote closely.
