Saturday, June 23, 2007

A Day Late and Dollar Short--The Friday 5 on Summer

The RevGals Friday 5 was about Summer. This pesky nuisance called work got in my way yesterday, but here they are:

Watermelon, watermelon, watermelon. And the less superior melons: cantaloupe and honeydew. And cherries. For beverages I’m really a water person in hot weather.

Maybe Bennie and the Jets, because I used to hear that at the swimming pool when I was young.

3. A childhood summer memory
Going to Panama City Beach and feeling the water rush up and over my feet. When I saw the beaches on the Atlantic, I was sorely disappointed—the water looked so muddy and the sand wasn’t the beautiful white drifts of the Gulf. Otherwise, summer in south Georgia is irredeemably miserable, even more hot and humid than where I live now.

4. An adult summer memory
New York City. Heatwave. A group of us trying to get from 110th street to the West Village, where there was this wonderful café called Veniero’s. The airconditioning on the train had broken. It was crowded. That café was a beacon, promising iced coffee and the best cannoli I have ever had.

I hate summer. Period. Don’t like heat, don’t like a bright sun beating down on me, don’t like swimming. Hate cookouts and being sticky and bothered by insects. I’ve never been anywhere with a pleasant summer besides England. And I was there once during a heatwave and it was miserable, because they don’t always have air-conditioned buildings and when I bought a drink off a street vendor it was warm. Warm soda. The perfect summer day would be cool, and I would be in a city, so that I could visit museums and bookstores.

Everything is the same. Our church is pretty big and the number of those attending doesn’t seem to decrease in the summer. Dress is always casual. Sometimes I think you could show up in your pajamas and no one would think anything of it.


  1. Ah, a kindred spirit at last!

  2. Cherries are really a summer delight! I love Summer but don't like to be hot and humid. New England is about right for me and the beeches are nice too. New York City is the worst in the Summer!

  3. I love summer, but only because I can retreat to air conditioning whenever I want.

  4. 1. Neopolitan ice cream and a chocolate milkshake—my favorite combination. I used to make chocolate shakes all the time during the summer. The best way to have one is with a bowl of neopolitan on the porch at noontime. I dunno; it just always tastes better there. But too much of the stuff makes me sick.

    2. Little Bag of Hair by the Mystery Jets. I don't know why it reminds me of summer. It's about the lead singer's time in the hospital as a child, but I've never had to stay in the hospital overnight. It's anyone's guess I suppose.

    3. How about memories? My family used to live off of my grandparent's 57 acre farm, and during the summers before they sold it, we spent most days swimming in their pool. Sometimes we played hide-and-go-seek in the cornfields, other times we climbed the trees in the backyard. (No, I am not making this up!) However, after my grandparents no longer lived half a minute away, summer became more of a three-month long confinement.

    4. I'm not really that much of an adult, but when I was living with my aunt in Michigan, I had a lot of free time during the summer, and I remember one day going to the beach and just watching the happy families and in-love couples around me. It made me feel like I was all alone in the world, and so I decided to move back home to my parents. Now I no longer have to feel that way, especially since I let G-d back into my heart.

    5. Back on the farm drinking chocolate milkshakes and soaking up some sun. There are some houses where the cornfields used to be, and across the way from the house are some beehives, but most of it is unclaimed, so if I ever wanted to romp in the fields a bit, I could. The pool is gone, but the farm buildings still stand. Plus my younger sister's good friend now lives in my grandparents' old house while my cousin's family lives in mine. In fact, I'm here in my old bedroom as I write this, so I suppose this is my wonderful summer "day" of the near future. Perhaps I'll romp in the field tomorrow before my parents and I head back home.

    6. With the exception of VBS for a week, my church does nothing special during the summer. Quite the opposite, actually. Bible study nights and AWANA are only during the school year.

    P.S. I got a little carried away there, but I hope you don't mind, Bad Alice. I just really wanted to put this out there.