Guilty Summer Pleasures
Oh, for the days of summer vacation. Day after day with nothing to do but figure out what kind of fun you're going to have.
I grew up in a neighborhood jammed packed full of families with kids. We were just a few feet from a playground (a really good one), swimming pool, clubhouse, and a basketball court. Summer was filled with games of Marco Polo in the pool, Red Light Green Light, Red Rover, Swing The Statue, and a goofy game I think some kid made up, called Fernando's Hideaway. We rode our bikes through the fields down to a pond everyone called Augie's. We caught crawdads and put them in used Cool Whip containers in the backyard till they died and started to smell.
We swam till our skin wrinkled, stayed out till it got too dark to see, and hung out with friends everyday. When I was sure my parents weren't watching out the window, I rode on the back of Kevin Brassfield's Honda Mini-Bike. We thought it was really cool to walk up to the Kmart and eat at the lunch counter. We ordered french fries and poured our own drinks at the fountain. At Kmart we also bought 45's (my collection included both Donny Osmond AND Deep Purple). You could get the latest Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine too........Before we left we bought those pistachios that were dyed bright red, from the spinning, heated nut counter.
Life was good.
They say that youth is wasted on the young, but I actually think I had more than an inkling that life would not always be this way......I loved going back to school in the fall, but I knew summer was a special time.....that would never, ever be the same when you were an adult.
Fast forward several decades and summer just ain't what it used to be.......
So I look out for some silly, childish distractions.
My guilty pleasures:
Big Brother - Yep, watch this ridiculous show every summer. I like the senseless fun of watching a group of people go stir crazy locked in a house together........After the first episode tonight, my guess for Saboteur......Swim Coach Dude. Three nights a week, I'm watching BB,.........voyeurism at it's best.
Ice Cream - Not a big fan of desserts in general, but I love ice cream. DQ, Baskin Robbins......I'm there. In our neighborhood, the Ice Cream Truck comes through every Saturday and Sunday. Still feel silly running out there, so I listen to the music and watch him from the window.
Watermelon - These days you can get it year round, but as a kid it was a summer only treat. Could eat it every meal, every day.
Convertible/Rock N Roll - Top down on my car.........music blaring. Summer is all about music. One of the best summer songs recently..........the oddly compelling Kid Rock hit it out of the park with "All Summer Long". "Smooth" by Santana should be officially sanctioned as the anthem for summer.
Taking A Break - Junk drawer needs cleaning out? Not gonna happen. Basement needs reorganizing? No way. In general, if it doesn't involve dirt and landscaping, extra projects just aren't going to happen. The trick to this guilty pleasure is to actually not feel guilty. There will be cold blustery days to come when you can't sit outside and watch the butterflies flutter by.
Meanwhile..............be a kid. Eat some ice cream, crank the tunes, let the wind blow your hair around.
Play, enjoy, and day dream some days away.
I grew up in a neighborhood jammed packed full of families with kids. We were just a few feet from a playground (a really good one), swimming pool, clubhouse, and a basketball court. Summer was filled with games of Marco Polo in the pool, Red Light Green Light, Red Rover, Swing The Statue, and a goofy game I think some kid made up, called Fernando's Hideaway. We rode our bikes through the fields down to a pond everyone called Augie's. We caught crawdads and put them in used Cool Whip containers in the backyard till they died and started to smell.
We swam till our skin wrinkled, stayed out till it got too dark to see, and hung out with friends everyday. When I was sure my parents weren't watching out the window, I rode on the back of Kevin Brassfield's Honda Mini-Bike. We thought it was really cool to walk up to the Kmart and eat at the lunch counter. We ordered french fries and poured our own drinks at the fountain. At Kmart we also bought 45's (my collection included both Donny Osmond AND Deep Purple). You could get the latest Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine too........Before we left we bought those pistachios that were dyed bright red, from the spinning, heated nut counter.
Life was good.
They say that youth is wasted on the young, but I actually think I had more than an inkling that life would not always be this way......I loved going back to school in the fall, but I knew summer was a special time.....that would never, ever be the same when you were an adult.
Fast forward several decades and summer just ain't what it used to be.......
So I look out for some silly, childish distractions.
My guilty pleasures:
Big Brother - Yep, watch this ridiculous show every summer. I like the senseless fun of watching a group of people go stir crazy locked in a house together........After the first episode tonight, my guess for Saboteur......Swim Coach Dude. Three nights a week, I'm watching BB,.........voyeurism at it's best.
Ice Cream - Not a big fan of desserts in general, but I love ice cream. DQ, Baskin Robbins......I'm there. In our neighborhood, the Ice Cream Truck comes through every Saturday and Sunday. Still feel silly running out there, so I listen to the music and watch him from the window.
Watermelon - These days you can get it year round, but as a kid it was a summer only treat. Could eat it every meal, every day.
Convertible/Rock N Roll - Top down on my car.........music blaring. Summer is all about music. One of the best summer songs recently..........the oddly compelling Kid Rock hit it out of the park with "All Summer Long". "Smooth" by Santana should be officially sanctioned as the anthem for summer.
Taking A Break - Junk drawer needs cleaning out? Not gonna happen. Basement needs reorganizing? No way. In general, if it doesn't involve dirt and landscaping, extra projects just aren't going to happen. The trick to this guilty pleasure is to actually not feel guilty. There will be cold blustery days to come when you can't sit outside and watch the butterflies flutter by.
Meanwhile..............be a kid. Eat some ice cream, crank the tunes, let the wind blow your hair around.
Play, enjoy, and day dream some days away.
Comments