“On a bike, being just slightly above pedestrian and car eye level, one gets a perfect view of the goings-on in one’s own town.”
The inside is cooler than outside. I went on the deck earlier and filled the bird feeders, all except the red spawn of Satan’s favorite one. Afterwards I sat outside for a while patting Miss Gracie. It is a lovely morning.
My back pain had me groaning loudly enough to wake myself up several times last night, just about every time I moved. My guess is Gracie and Fern never moved and slept through my pain. I’m tired today so I see a nap on the horizon.
June was exciting only because it meant the end of school. Now I could go wherever I wanted and stay as long as I liked. My mother never knew where we were. We left in the morning with our packed lunches and got home in time for supper. I remember going to the next town over, Wakefield, and riding the circumference of the lake. At the end of the lake, the end furthest away from us, was a teepee, the symbol of a gift shop selling Indian doodads. It never occurred to me how strange that was. There were very few Indians, exactly none, in suburban Boston yet I could buy a tom-tom or a hatchet decorated in beads and fringe. Sometimes we’d leave the lake at that end and ride our bikes to Reading. I remember signs announcing some sort of a military base. Once in a while we’d even see an army truck or jeep. We’d ride through Reading Square and sometimes take a detour to the train station and sit on the benches a while hoping for a train. I always thought it was a cheat that the towns on each side of mine had trains, and we didn’t. My town was stuck with buses. We’d leave Reading and ride the back roads home. We’d pass a golf course, a cemetery and a big corner store called Fortini’s. Sometimes we’d ride the swamp path through the woods, the quickest way home, while other times we’d stay on the road.
My mother would ask us what we’d done all day. Just riding around was always our answer.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: army, bike riding, bird feeders, cooler house, end of school, June, lake, reading, teepee, Wakefield
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
June 27, 2015 at 12:49 pm
It’s raining, it’s friggin raining. Its the end of a tumultuous week for the President of the United States not least being a fitting eulogy for Clementa Pinckney – a truly good man who cared. Stuff got done, that in my world should have got done.
Right, back to my normal space, we went down the Comerica last night, had great seats, the ball went out, Cabrera whacked doubles all over the place and the good guys won. We drank beer, ate hot dogs and French fries. It was great but now I am broke. We didn’t stay for the Friday night fireworks but we had a lovely time.
Tonight we say goodbye to our beloved Priest of 32 years. I am more than slightly heartbroken by the loss of our Shepherd. He will preside over our daughter’s wedding in August – it was all I asked of the event. I’m a Protestant in a liberal Catholic Chapel.
It’s raining
June 27, 2015 at 4:13 pm
My Dear Hedley,
I applaud the sentiment of your first paragraph except for the part about the friggin’ rain. I am sorry you don’t have sunny skies and a delightful day.
I saw your Facebook picture. You both looked quite happy at the park. A trip to any ballpark is never inexpensive. It usually means a loan on one’s house to partake of all the food and fun. Fenway would be even more expensive.
I haven’t ever had a beloved priest. I had few I liked and few I didn’t. A liberal chapel seems an oxymoron.
June 27, 2015 at 2:09 pm
We’ve had a wonderful day here today, sunny and almost 68F, it’s just enough warm for me 🙂 The cows have now moved to another pasture and sheep have moved in instead, they don’t seem to like the move and have been rather noisy all day 🙂 The cows too from their new pasture, none of them seems to like changes 🙂
I also noticed that the horse flies have returned, the bit is something that is impossible to miss 🙂 I miss my bike, I would have to bike on the big roads if I wanted to since all smallöer roads usually only leads to a tiny village or a farm. That wouldn’t have stopped me back in the days but then again it was easier to come back after any kind of accident 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
June 27, 2015 at 4:17 pm
Christer,
I’m glad you have another wonderful day. I wish we had the same here. It is dark and chilly. Windows have been closed to keep the house a bit warmer.
I hate fly season. Here they are green flies. They bite and are miserable creatures.
Getting old is tough. We can’t do what we used to do and we long for it.
Have a great evening!
June 27, 2015 at 2:20 pm
I hope your back will be better soon. Enjoy your nap.
School ended yesterday in the area where I live, we are quite early this year. Our federal states start summer holidays (usually 6 weeks) on different dates to avoid traffic jams which are unavoidable anyway.
Also Seven Sleepers Day here today, according to an old weather lore today’s weather will stay for the next seven weeks. Well, we’ve already had thunder in the night, rain and wind late in the morning when I went grocery shopping by bike and nice warm sun this afternoon and evening. So mostly sun on my birthday today and hopefully for the next seven weeks 🙂
June 27, 2015 at 4:35 pm
Birgit,
The lap was great until Gracie and Fern joined me. They seem to need to be right beside me taking up too much room.
The students in my town are about the only ones still in school. They will be out on Monday.
Happy Birthday, Birgit! I’m thinking the sun was in honor of your day!
June 27, 2015 at 5:10 pm
Thank you 🙂
June 27, 2015 at 5:18 pm
My pleasure, Birgit!
June 27, 2015 at 9:23 pm
Oh Oh Oh! It’s Birgit’s birthday?!?! The good thing about Facebook is that it alerts me to such events. If you were a Facebook friend, I’d have created a homemade “card” to wish you Alles Gute zum Geburtstag (Yes, I had to look it up. Thanks, Google). Now all you’re getting is this crummy message. Hope your day was a delight!
June 27, 2015 at 10:00 pm
Thanks, im6! (and G**gle).
Delightful lazy day today. Fun tomorrow, we have tickets for Julian Dawson, a favorite concert singer/musician for the last ~25 years.
Greetings from one of those crazy people who refuse to have a facebook account 😉
June 28, 2015 at 7:08 am
Birgit
Happy Day after your Birthday Day
I hope there was a big parade in Bochum to celebrate your special day
June 28, 2015 at 10:49 am
Oh! I missed Your birthday!
Happy Birthday Birgit!
June 28, 2015 at 11:35 am
Thanks, Hedley and Christer!
June 27, 2015 at 4:48 pm
Yesterday was a great day for equality in this country. The last bastion of discrimination has been outlawed. Four of the most conservative Justices including the African American Justice, don’t get real equality.
When I was a kid summer as the time for swimming and riding my bike. I would fill up my canteen with ice water and head in different directions to explore parts of town that I had never visited. I always returned in early afternoon to eat lunch and then go to the city swimming pool until supper time.
It’s not as hot as yesterday and not as humid.
June 27, 2015 at 5:25 pm
Bob,
Kennedy’s opinion was marvelous and based on ‘equal justice under law’. I loved the President’s comment, “When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free.” I’m still waiting for that minister to set himself on fire.
The town’s swimming pool was at the totally opposite end of where I lived. We’d go swimming, but by the time we’d get home we’d be sweaty and tired again.
I have shut windows, and I’m chilly. It has been that sort of day.
June 27, 2015 at 11:20 pm
LIKE! Justice Kennedy’s opinion was so eloquent. Baaaaad week for Scalia!! Tee, hee…
Very cool (50*) with rain in upstate NY. I’m nowhere near the chase scene for the last Danemora escapee, but I’ve been to Lake Titus a few times. Many homes/camps on the lake, but no roads. Very isolated. He’ll have a rainy, cold night. And a worse day tomorrow when the dogs are loosed.
June 27, 2015 at 11:31 pm
Jay,
I join you in the Tee, Hee! Sorry, Justice Scalia!
I went to a concert and during intermission it started to spit rain. By the time the concert was over, it was raining heavily.
I thought they had gotten much further away, but it seems they, or at least he, were still in the area.
June 28, 2015 at 10:52 am
I’ve heard the minister now says he just meant it metaphorically 🙂 I guess that everything he says from now on can be taken metaphorically too 🙂
June 28, 2015 at 12:07 pm
Christer,
That’s a great fallback for the minister. You’re right-he is not to be trusted.
June 27, 2015 at 6:46 pm
Hi Kat,
There were actually quite a few Native Americans living in the area when we were young.The tepee was the Indian Trading Post. It was owned by Lennie Bayrd, a Native American, whose family lived here for several generations and right up to the present. He built the tepee parts himself. He and his family did a lot of the leather and bead work themselves. He designed and made the costumes that were worn by the high school majorettes for decades. Lots of leather and beadwork and feathers. Very expensive for the girl’s parents, I would guess, but they were beautiful and beautifully made.
I used to go there for beading supplies. Mr. Bayrd taught me a lot about beadwork and a little bit about leather work, too. Thanks to him I know how to make a hand fan out of turkey feathers, leather cording and leftover chicken bones. I’ll always be cool. 🙂
Today was a so-so day. It wasn’t really cool but it wasn’t hot and the sun was half-hearted about shining. I mowed my little protected lawn (that I won’t let the lawn guy cut) while laundry was doing its thing. I sat for a long while on an upturned horse bucket and just watched the backyard. Nothing happened. Birds and bugs wandered through but that was about it. I went inside and vacuumed the rug and the kitchen floor, lunched, prepped the dogs’ dinner and went to pick them up. Now we are all flopped on the couch watching CSPAN History TV. Well, I am. They’re asleep.
Enjoy the evening.
June 27, 2015 at 11:47 pm
Hi Caryn,
I never knew that, obviously. I loved going in there and bought beadwork, mostly purses, but I never realized he was an American Indian. Maybe I was too young as I was still bicycle age, 10 or 11. I am amazed he built that teepee himself.
It was cold most of today. Tonight was even worse. I wore socks out inside real shoes. I even needed a sweatshirt. It is raining now. Ugly night.
Have a great morning.
June 28, 2015 at 8:40 am
Things move slowly in our nation. I had just discovered that in some parts of North Carolina years ago there were separate bathroom facilities (public) for Whites, Blacks, and Am Indians.
I went into the army right after high school and it was segregated. Not long after, I got called back for the Korean War (1950) and it had been integrated under Truman, though integration in the nation did not take place till a few more years.
June 28, 2015 at 10:27 am
Freddy,
I have lived in Massachusetts all my life so I haven’t ever seen separate facilities. My town had few if any Blacks so it wasn’t until college when I met my first. Given that, going to Ghana in the Peace Corps was quite an experience. I was th only white most times on buses, trains and even in my town’s market.