The rain has finally gone and been replaced by sun and blue sky. It is in the low 70’s, perfect weather though there is still a chance of rain but much later. I don’t have an errand but I have one chore, to grocery shop from the comfort of my couch. I have a list.

My mother always grocery shopped on Friday nights. She didn’t drive so my father dropped her at the supermarket, and he waited. We loved Friday nights. The larder was filled with cold cuts, cheese and, best of all, cookies, especially Oreos. They went fast. During the school year, my mother declared some cookies hands off so she could pack them in our lunches. During the summer, no cookies were safe. Sometimes I would pack a lunch if I was roaming for the day. I’d make a bologna sandwich with mustard and hot peppers. The sandwich was never symmetrical. It had lumps, an odd cut of the bologna and the hot peppers cut in half. I’d pack cookies for dessert. I’d put the bag in my bike’s basket and hold on to it over bumps so it wouldn’t fall out of the basket. When I’d get hungry, I’d find a shady spot where I could sit and eat. The town hall had benches beside it under leafy trees. That was the best spot.

The town hall always felt cool inside even on a hot summer’s day back when there was no air conditioning. It was dark in places, especially the stairs where there were no windows. When walking on the stairs, footsteps echoed. My mother and I went there to get my birth certificate as I needed it for my Peace Corps passport. We went to the bottom floor, the darkest floor, sort of the cellar. The lady quickly gave me my official birth certificate. I still have that copy of my birth certificate. It is yellow with age and the official stamp has lost its luster and its bumps. It has become an historical document.

The summer is quickly passing, today being the last of July. When I was a kid, I knew school days were getting closer so it was almost time to school shop. Every year we got new shoes, a new pencil case, a lunch box and a school bag. Because we wore uniforms, we didn’t get a choice of clothes. We tried on last year’s uniform clothes, a blue skirt and a white blouse, to see if they fit. If they did, we were done.

Yesterday it rained both during the day and last night with a bit of space between them. I could hear the drops hitting the metal top of the barbecue, one of my favorite sounds. Today will also be wet with a high in the 60’s. I do love summer rain.

I used to love to ride my bike through puddles. If I saw any puddle, big or small, I’d aim. When I hit the water, I’d take my feet off the pedals and raise my legs up on each side. My bike would sort of surf through the water which rose up in waves on each side, my Red Sea moment. Sometimes I’d hydroplane and hope my bike would stay afloat. It always did.

I don’t remember how old I was when we got our first TV. We had one as long as I can remember. Our first set was huge, a giant console cabinet with a tiny screen behind two cabinet doors which took up a whole corner of the living room. It was best watched sitting on the rug on the floor in front of it. We had an antenna, rabbit ears, which got local stations. My father wrapped aluminum foil around each ear thinking it got better reception that way. We used to take turns getting up to the change the channel. On weekdays, we’d watch TV in the late afternoons before supper and for a little time before bed. Our best watch times were Saturday mornings when every show was a kid’s show. One of my TV milestones was the first time I stayed up long enough for the channels to go off the air to the stirring sound of The Star Spangled Banner which was then followed by the Indian-head test pattern and the sound of snow.

I remember the record player which played only 45’s. It was small. It had a chunky round spindle on which you loaded the records and which automatically dropped the next record. I never had one; instead, I’d put in the hole of the 45 one of those plastic adapters so the record could play on a regular size spindle, like on a hi-fi. I had a good collection of 45’s. When I was young, they were cheap to buy, and I could buy the song I loved instead of a whole album. Later, though, I always bought the albums. I still have many of my records, and I still play them.

Today I have a concert.