Summer Dreams
Posted on June 25, 2008 by Katherine Carr |
Image of Long Beach Island Sun from kuhnfoto gallery
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day“……………As I read these words to Shakespeare’s immortal tribute ” as long as this lasts so does thee” I started to contemplate on summer’s eternal lure and the beauty of a season meant for fun and growth. Most of us compare, consciously or not, all summers to the ones in childhood we hold most dear. It might have been an ice cold cream on a sultry afternoon; the exhilaration at the top of the Ferris wheel looking at thousands of twinkling lights below; in awe and apprehension; the cool breaking waves over time worn shells and rocks; the cracking screech of a lone sea gull or the momentary and fleeting idea of an endless summer. It doesn’t matter if we are city or county mice we all have illusions, delusions, and strong attachments to those lazy days when life seems to halt and the inner child is born or renewed again.
My childhood days of summer meant endless days at the municipal pool in a small Midwestern town. Everyone knew everyone else and we lathered on baby oil and lay in tribute to what, in those days, was considered beautiful, a golden tan. I never burned so by the end of August I always looked like a ripe hazelnut and sometimes wondered if my hair really was sandy brown because the tips and shaft had bleached to a ripe yellow and looked disheveled as we rode the dusty trails to the lake with windows down and rock and roll hit parades flying from the windows. In my town we would “drag main street” every night. cars full of teenagers would pass each other at two miles per hour and we would wave and flirt and think youth could never pass away. At the end of one turn about was a local hamburger drive- in where we had cokes and burgers.. The Old Historic Fort Hays, had a swinging bridge and a small buffalo herd. It was the only area in town with lots of trees and ran along Big Creek. On the Fourth of July the fireworks were there and later the “Wild West Festival” came to town. By the time Kevin Costner filmed Dances with Wolves at the Fort I was long gone but the western stories still linger in my childhood imagination of boot hill and cowboys. My best summers were with my best friend, Nadine, on my uncle’s farm or with my sister’s sister-in law on their ranch and farm with horses, chickens and cattle. It’s Only a Paper Moon was shot there with Tatum O’Neil and when Shirley Temple came to town, she sat on my Grandpa’s shoulders and somewhere is a picture of them in a wheat field. The local Appleby’s has a life size picture of my Grandpa Weltz as he was sheriff and Chief of Police about fifty years. There is even a tourist bus tour in the town nowadays. Nights we would play in the neighborhood and when tornado warnings drifted by we were all caught up in the excitement of life’s danger and mystery. Ironically the only tornado I was in was in NJ in 1983, July 19th @ 9:25pm where I was caught in a small tornado that peeled the roof off of the local K-Mart as I crouched on the floor and lost a sandal as the manager yelled everyone get down..
My folks had a local dress shop called Char-Nells and I did the window displays and sold and modeled Bobby Brooks dresses to the teen crowd. Dad was an accountant for Halliburton Oil and later a State Safely Inspector. Mom had been Clerk of the District Court and was one of the first female politicians. We actually had the press come to an interview and ask us if we would miss our Mother being home and baking cookies.! How stupid they were as she handled Motherhood and life perfectly!
The store was cool and had its perks as I could swim every aft. and have all the free merchandize I needed. Since a white shirt and worn blue jeans was my idea of ‘haut- couture” I did not appreciate all this at the time. I am still pretty much a blue jean and white shirt gal and barefoot was and is my trade mark to this day. I inherited that from a Grandmother who was a barefoot long before that fashion in the 60’s. My husband took over the impossible task of always reminding me to put some shoes on. With every one of my toes broken, at some point, no one could curb that little action of independence and rebellion. I also got from my Grandmother Houser a love of flowers. In the summer I am either growing, pruning, cutting or arranging roses and flowers from my garden. I have been doing this over 39 married years and a flower is a blessing, a prayer and sign of God’s splendor to me. Summer was church carnivals and festivals and parades on the Fourth of July! Summer was family vacations to cities, professional baseball games, museums, amusement parks and shopping for school. My folks danced under the stars @ Gayla Gardens near the Old Fort Hays campus as they dated. The thee of us (siblings) would sit at Elitchas Gardens in Colorado and watch them on the giant dance floor. One summer we cleared our living area and they danced for us on a summer’s eve on Barnegat Bay, at the Jersey Shore. It was during a summer main street festival where I sat at my uncle’s café and we all( my friend click ) planned a trip to NYC the next summer. Ironically, none of them kept to the plan and I alone went to NYC for ten days with my college instead as met the love of my life that fall in college. He was a Jersey boy.
No one could ever have prepared me for the Jersey Shore in summer. It is a little piece of Heaven and once in the blood can never, ever, be extricated. We always return back to the shore and we have lived on water for 32 years. The seagulls and ducks are as much a part of my life as sunflowers used to be. The ocean even reminds me of a rolling wheat field and the moment I first put eyes on the dunes in Harvey Cedars, my husband’s summer love, I was hooked forever. He was a surfer and I was a badge checker. We never tired of the water and still don’t. When we vacation we always find a way to be on the water either sailing, boating, swimming, diving, etc. Nothing beats the end of a day with that feeling of exhaustion only the water can produce. The shore “outdoor shower” is my idea of Heaven and we open her in March and close her around Thanksgiving. Summers down the shore are much longer and the best months can be Sept. and part of October. We had a condo up state NY but usually only went there in the winter ski season. But a few summers we took the time to go up and fish. The guys loved to fly fish and the trout was suburb. We relaxed and just lay back but our hearts always yearned for the shore.
When our son was born he immediately took to the water. I used to wonder if he had gills as he never tired of the ocean, pools or ponds. He and his Dad made a solid bond of things I had no interest in like golfing, water skiing, and fishing but those years gave me endless time to read and relax in the sun as they did their thing. Most of his middle ten years were at baseball, basketball and golf competitions. We never, ever, missed a game and most practices! Those were the best summers! We traveled in many places over the summers and most involved golf. Not Bermuda, Bahamas, Hawaii, or even Orlando kept us away too long from home. His love and ability to fish started here.
His love for the Jersey Shore is as solid as ours and we all will always call it home no matter where life leads us.
Most memorable about summer is the endless gatherings of family and friends for BBQs and outdoor parties. We never needed an excuse to whip up something and turn it into something huge. We never had events where anyone turned away or could not
attend. We never left anyone excluded if we knew they were alone. Those are the best parts of summer and the laughter and joy make for memories forever. Making the homemade potato salads, macaroni salad, and cold slaw was as satisfying as eating them. The burgers, hot dogs and chicken on the grill was beyond compare. Best are those nights when we spread out newspapers in the sunroom and cracked the blue claws we caught that aft. in nets off the sailboat, dipped in butter, and devoured them in seconds! Best are the faces of family and extended family sharing in our life!
New traditions replaced old. BBQs and summer gatherings at our son’s are as special and unique as any we could ever plan. His ” ribs” rival his uncles which is no mean feat.
There have been, over the years, very sad events too, in summer. Somehow illnesses, deaths, loss, and sorrow from loss seem easier when in summer or perhaps the recovery period is filled with hope of new beginnings better in summer. When I reflect over a lifetime of summers I realize how lucky I have been. With twenty in Kansas, four in Massachusetts, one in Calif. and thirty four in NJ, I have many memories to compare. And as long as those memories live so do the people, places and times for me. Eternal summer is not just a memory but a dream fulfilled.
What are your summer memories??
Comments
One Response to “Summer Dreams”
Leave a Reply
For me, summers would always kick off on Memorial Day Weekend (even though Summer doesn’t officially start until the end of June). As a family, we would put the sailboat and motorboat in the water and take lots of day trips, even weekend trips to Atlantic City. 4th of July is always a fun and busy weekend of grilling with family and friends. For a few summers I was a bartender at a small family-style restaurant. I have had lots of memories on speed boats, sailboats, jet skis, jet boats, and fishing boats. I remember going to basketball and golf camps during the high school years. Then August and September rolls around and the hot and humid weather gives way to a dryer tropical-like climate. This is the best time of the year. Windows can be left open as the breeze is to die for. The ocean is 80 degrees. Labor Day Weekend concludes the major tourist season so we are left with this paradise to ourselves. I have also traveled out to Kansas and many other places in the Summer which is also very nice. I love seeing family and changing the scenery. I am very lucky to have experienced the summers I have lived with and only hope to give my family the same experiences.