Posted tagged ‘heat’

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“When I was a boy, just about every summer we’d take a vacation. And you know, in 18 years, we never had fun.”

July 24, 2010

Lots of rain last night, and it’s still a damp day with a sky full of clouds, but it seems to be getting lighter so I think the sun will be making an appearance shortly. The weatherman says thundershowers tonight and maybe tomorrow. For the first time in a long while, I stayed inside to read the papers. Everything outside was still too wet. I missed the companionship of my birds, the sound of the fountain and the rustle of the leaves.

I got a chuckle from the paper this morning, a few chuckles actually, but a picture’s caption gave me the biggest laugh. The picture showed a street in downtown Pittsfield with two bicyclists riding on the sidewalk. The caption said, “Pedestrians biked down the revitalized North Street.”

My dance card is empty this weekend except for tonight’s deck movie so I’m hoping those showers will come late. On cloudy days like today I stay home and let the tourists have the roads. This is changeover week in the cottages so the mid-cape will be busy, coming and going.

When I was a kid, I don’t ever remember going to the cape for vacation. If we went away, we went north, usually to Maine where the water was far too cold to enjoy. My father’s friend had a cottage in Ogunquit, and that’s where we generally went. As I got older, into my teens, the last place I wanted to be was on a family vacation. I begged and pleaded to stay with friends at home, but I never won that argument; instead, I was crammed in a car filled with six people, bags of food and a few pieces of luggage which didn’t fit into the trunk. The car was stifling, and I sometimes got car sick. Add my annoyance to all that, and you can imagine how pleasant I was.

The last trip we made as a whole family was to Niagara Falls. It was my favorite of all the trips we ever made. It was during the summer I turned fifteen. We left for the falls after a weekend in Ogunquit. We saw so much on that trip even I wasn’t bored. I remember staying in a motel for the first time, skipping stones on Lake Ontario, the wonder of  the Eisenhower Locks, crossing into another country, the falls under the lights at night and my father talking to the wax cashier at Madame Tussauds. One of my memory drawers keeps that trip close, and I get to go back every now and then.

Categories: Musings
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“No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time.”

July 19, 2010

The weather is going to be the same all week, the same as it was last week. The paper did say chance of thundershowers this afternoon and evening, and I’m hoping it happens. My world is brown from lack of rain, and I love a thunderstorm. Last night I showered about eight then went right to my air-conditioned bedroom to read. I was reminded of Ghana. I’d take my cold shower, jump into my robe to walk across the back courtyard to my house then go right to bed, still wet from the shower. The air drying would keep me cool enough to fall asleep.

I have such an itch to go somewhere. The other day I went to a few sites and plugged in destinations hoping to find an inexpensive airfare. All the places I investigated were new to me, that was the only rule. I’m still on the hunt. Ghana will be some time next year, but I don’t know when yet. I’m waiting to hear if there will be festivities celebrating 50 years of Peace Corps in Ghana. I’m going regardless, but I’d like my trip to coincide if there are any planned.

When we were kids, we laughed at the grossest stuff and told horrid jokes. If someone got sick, it was fodder for endless jibes. I remember there was a  Helen Keller joke phase and the punch lines would send us into peals of laughter. We weren’t cruel. We were just kids.

Telling someone they had cooties was about the worst. None of us knew exactly what a cootie was, but we knew we never wanted any. I remember making a cootie catcher and holding it near kids and saying, “I got one; I got one.” That always got me chased.

We never swore at each other back then, but we named called. I remember the universal answer was always, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” They actually did, but in no way would we let that one out. The last thing any kid wanted to be was a target, even for a little while.

Categories: Musings
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“It is well to lie fallow for a while.”

July 12, 2010

The night was perfect with a small breeze so we had our very first movie night, and it was a fun evening. The set up was easy. The new table held the projector and the screen pulled open from the sides. All I had to do was load the movie and adjust the sound. The debut film was Jaws. When those familiar notes announced the shark at the beginning of the movie, we were almost giddy with anticipation. I got pinched when my friend Clare jumped at the sight of Ben Gardner’s face in the boat. We decided we’re going to have a movie night every week. I won’t sit near Clare.

The weather doesn’t allow for much activity. It is still hot and sticky. Sitting in a chair on the deck, drinking lemonade and reading is about as strenuous as I want to be all day. The book is already outside waiting.

I really don’t remember the heat when I was a kid even though I was busy every single day. In the mornings I was at the playground where I played checkers, horseshoes, a little tennis and did all sorts of crafts. I made countless potholders and gymp bracelets. Once I painted a tray. I remember because it was one of the best things I ever made. I was never really all that talented when it came to drawing or painting, and this was a masterpiece. The tray had flowers, red and white ones. I gave it to my mother. I went home for lunch every day then back to the playground in the afternoon. Once or twice a week, we played softball against the other playgrounds. I was a pitcher and a fearsome hitter.

Twice a week, from the time I was eleven, I had drill practice at night under the lights. The competitions were on the weekends, usually Saturday nights or Sunday afternoons. We competed in the CYO and Eastern Mass circuits. Bands and drum corps also competed at the same competitions. The fields were hot, always totally in the sun, as were the stands. I remember one of my friends fainted a few times during competitions. I think we just walked over her, not wanting the routine spoiled. She doesn’t remember. Good thing probably.

All I want is one sweatshirt day.

Categories: Musings
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The Heat Is On: Glenn Frey

July 11, 2010

""The Heat is On" is a song written by Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey and recorded by Glenn Frey, from Faltermeyer and Forsey's soundtrack of the popular 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop. It was a major hit single in its own right, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1985."

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“If You Should Accidentally Tear A Speaker Off…”

July 9, 2010

Looking out the window you’d think what a lovely day. The sun is shining and the sky is blue with only a few clouds, but all that’s horribly deceiving. I sat outside with my ice coffee and my papers, did very little and still sweated. I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear,”I’m melting. I’m melting,” from a nearby house. It’s that muggy. It’s one of those feel grungy sort of days when two or three showers mightn’t be enough.

Tomorrow night is the dry run for my Movies on the Deck, just a couple of friends who won’t mind if there are glitches. I want to make sure I can easily set-up and work the projector and the popcorn machine. With the sightings of great whites, I thought Jaws would be the perfect opener. I’m really looking forward to having movies outside in the cool of a summer evening. I’ve told my friends pajamas would be just fine should they prefer a retro look.

The town drive-in is long gone. All that’s left are overgrown rows where the cars used to drive looking for the perfect spot. It was a small drive-in so deep in the woods that the mosquitoes carried off small children. Sometimes the screams were from the movie, sometimes from small children. We always set in the back so we could use two spaces, one for the car and one for us. We’d set out chairs, a picnic basket and a cooler and surround ourselves with lit mosquito coils. We brought wine and cheese, crackers and fine pastries. We’d put the audio box on the car window facing us so we could hear the movie’s dialogue. We’d sit and chat and critique the movie while sumptuously dining on the goodies from our picnic basket. There were never many cars. It was always my favorite drive-in.

Categories: Musings
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“Pensive they sit, and roll their languid eyes.”

July 7, 2010

No rain is in sight, and in Boston it got to 100°. We were cooler but not by a whole lot. I hated it, but I had to go to Hyannis yesterday. The air conditioner was on in the car but it just wasn’t enough. The sun beat through the windows and sucked up all that cool air. I stayed in my allergists’ office longer than I needed. It was the coldest place I’d been all day.

The deck has a slight breeze, and I’m headed there as soon as I finish. I bought a couple of books yesterday, perfect reasons for sitting on the deck with a cold drink, my feet up and the rest of me immersed in a murder.

I left my bedroom air conditioner on. Gracie does not abide the heat well so when she starts her panting, we’re heading upstairs.

My mother used to keep the shades down when I was a kid. All the  rooms resembled caves. She said it kept the sun away and the rooms cooler. I remember going inside to get a drink and not being able to see until my eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was even worse going back outside when I had to cover my eyes because of the brightness of the sun. My mother was never one for sun. She wore sunglasses all summer for years. We used to call her the mole.

My mother used to make Zarex pops, and I’d sit on the back step slurping it before the sun got it. I always loved popsicles. They were pure relief for a parched mouth on a hot day. I bought some when I last went shopping, but mine have gone upscale and are now juice bars. I bought two favorites: lemon and coconut. I would have bought root beer popsicles, but there weren’t any. They’ll still my favorite.

Languid is about the best I’ll do today.

Categories: Music
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“Twilight drops her curtain down, and pins it with a star.”

June 29, 2010

Last night it rained, but it rained so gently we sat outside, my friends and I, and let the drops cool us. After the rain, we wiped off the table and chairs, sat down and ate dinner together, a summer dinner of hot dogs and fresh corn. A breeze cooled the night air. The fireflies are back.

Today is hot but drier than yesterday. Nothing is moving. Gracie sleeps in the cool sand under the deck. When she surfaces, the bottom of her muzzle is covered with sand. She shakes her head and the sand flies all over. At least she’s cool.

Duke was the boxer we had for nearly fifteen years when I was growing up. On hot summer days, he’d walk through the water to the sprinkler, stop the whirling arms with his paw and take a cold drink. He’d let go of the sprinkler then shake off the wet as he walked away. An arc of water spread around him when he shook. It shined in the sunlight.

We never went camping when I was a kid. My father knew neat stuff like making a making a lean-to in the woods, and he loved to fish, but my mother wasn’t at all the outdoor type. I can’t imagine camping ever appealed to her. My brother and his friend used to camp in the woods near a lake a few miles from our house. He’d use a tarp for a tent and blankets for a sleeping bag. My brother brought Duke for protection against the unknown, but Duke wasn’t much for camping. He’d walk back home unless my brother tied him to a tree.

I never went camping in the woods, but I used to sleep in the backyard. My friend and I would put down a tarp then bring out our pillows and a few snacks. We’d both lie on our backs looking at the stars before falling asleep. There were so many stars when I was kid. The sky was filled with light, with a blanket of stars bright enough to read by. I loved lying there looking across the sky. It was so beautiful I felt almost giddy with wonder.

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