Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Memories of summer

Tonight while cutting the grass and smelling the summer smells - my nose - my brain and my eyes took me back to an earlier day, earlier times, summers of bliss and laziness. Summers of childhood. If only you could bottle that innocence and exuberance and remember to use it wisely, uncork the bottle of youth slowly and savor savor savor.

The sight and smells of newly mown grass brought me back to playing outside until dark, never wanting to come in and coming in exhausted, dirty and sweaty and not really wanting to take a bath or shower, but being forced to succumb to the water and the soap's magic. If you were lucky a snack before bed was a true treat and rare.

There was spotty air conditioning then, not the monster cold machines we have now, and my room had no air conditioner -  just a fan grabbing wisps of a cooler night just outside the window.

I would push my bed under the window (fretting about the unknown things outside in the dark lurking just outside the window's  halo of light).  Monsters? Bad guys? vampires? It would depend on what movies I had watched that week as to what flashbacks I might be entertaining on any given evening.

The wisps of air were often lacking and I tossed and turned looking for those elusive cool spots on the bed, hoping for a reprieve.  This was the era pre sunblock/sunscreen, so I often was sporting a new sunburn on my back, making back sleeping impossible.   Add the factors together, the heat and the sunburn and I am sure there were nights where I was awake more than asleep. Hoping for the tiny wisps of cool air.

This was the era of grin and bear it.   There was no whining "It's too hot."    "I need a drink of water." Those types of pleas in my home went unheard and unanswered. "Don't wake your father - I'll get you a drink" was more the norm --with my mother sneaking in the extra comfort. Dads were tough in those days not coddlers not enablers.

I shot some pictures tonight while enjoying the green grass and cool air of a temperate nite.

Little garden monster - saddleback caterpillar - his sting feels like a lit cigarette! Beware! He got me! 

Sunset - August, 2013 - looks like the Caribbean - but it is not!

Dream your dreams and fly your flights of fancy - you are never too old to dream! 



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