OK, citizens, the Memorial Day weekend is over. You can come out now. It's safe to return from that rustic Sadie Cove retreat. For at least one day, you might actually be able to make a left turn from Lake Street onto the Bypass within 45 minutes or find a place to park on the Spit.

Feeling cranky? Don't worry about faking a smile for the tourleys. The people you'll run into are your neighbors, and they all know you're a grump. No need to get spiffed up, either. You can go back to wearing your stinky, odiferous salmon slaughtering jeans.

Those lame sourdough jokes, those corny bear stories? Save 'em for the Fourth of July. We've all got our own bear stories, like the time the Betster was cooking canned chicken in the Arctic Refuge and a bear walked up to the tent ... Oh, right. You heard that one.

There's no need to keep playing practical jokes on drivers of wayward motor homes. It's only cute the first time when you tell people Jewel's cabin is at the bottom of the Kachemak Selo switchbacks. Our neighbors out East End Road are getting tired of rescuing Winnebagos.

We've survived the first big holiday weekend of the season. No one got killed, praise The Spiritual Being of Your Choice. Now it's official: summer is here. Ohmigosh — June is here, too. Buckle up and keep it between the ditches. Your humble Betsteroid won't have to scrape the bilge to come up with fun things to do. There's lots happenin', like some of these Best Bets:

BEST 4,000 RASTAFARIANS BET: Wait — that's radiolarians, those funny spiked critters Ernst Haeckel discovered centuries ago while peering into a microscope for 10 years. See how he did this, and why it's so cool tonight at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center when the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies and the Kachemak Kayak Fest shows "Proteus." Filmmakers David Lebrun and Amy Halpern are on hand at 6 p.m., followed by the film at 7 p.m. and a discussion at 8 p.m.; the film is $10 and benefits those fine organizations.

BEST ROLL OVER MILTON BET: Back in 1976 when he ran for president, Pennsylvania Governor Milton Shapp never got the devoted followers like Dennis Kucinich did when he ran in 2004. Congressman Kucinich couldn't make it to Homer last year to thank his supporters for backing him in the District 35 Democratic Party caucus, but he's returning the favor tonight at 7 p.m. when he speaks at the Kachemak Bay Campus East.

BEST ART, ART AND MORE ART BET: From the Spit to Pioneer Avenue, Homer is busting out all over with art. The First Friday scene is so big that you might not be able to see everything in one night, but so what? Plan an extra day to linger and admire the art from creators near and far. See today's arts section for details and locations.

BEST ON YOUR MARK BET: You want gorgeous, healthy plants? Get up early and be ready to dive into the annual Homer Garden Club Plant Sale. The sale runs 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Homer City Hall parking lot, but if you're not there in the first five minutes, you'll be buying some weeds the Kachemak Gardener tossed in by mistake.

BEST NEW NEURONS BET: Grasshopper, when you can grab this stone out of the Betster's hand, you're ready to go. Hee-hee, there is no stone. Or is there? Contemplate ancient wisdoms like this — OK, maybe not so lame — from 12:30-5:30 p.m. at the annual Change Your Mind Day, sponsored by Homer's local Buddhist group, Floating Leaf Sangha, at the Khawachan Dharma Center on East End Road.

BEST IS IT PORN OR IS IT ART? Sexually explicit nudity or a woman contemplating her changing body? OK for kids under close adult supervision? When artists stretch the boundaries at local galleries and museums, what's appropriate? These are some of the questions grappled with at "Censorship," this month's Community Conversation from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Pratt Museum.