Summertime

Window in Summertime
Santa Rosa, NM

Took a few days off from my blogging.  It seems that the Texas heat has gotten to me.  It has stifled my creativity and all I seem to want is A/C and shade.   August days are really meant to just take it easy.  Tunes flash through my mind like Gershwin's "Summertime" or perhaps not as famous Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime".

When I think of childhood summertime's,  all that comes to mind is picture of me when I was about eight or ten years hugging my closest friend and next door neighbor Susan.  I still remember that she had handful of red licorice in her hand as she posed for the picture her mother took of us.  We were in the middle of our long summer.  Each day we played , road our bikes all over, or just watched her groom her mutt and always pregnant dog Hobo.  We were always sweaty, enthusiastic, and exhausted by the end of each day.  We spent our days sitting on the porch and staring from our hill perch at the town below.

Those were happy days.  The innocence of childhood was splendid.  We were like brother and sister.  Like a big brother, I always looked after her and cringed when she would get yelled at needlessly.  She was my pal until adolescence and high school got in the way.

Such a good friend.  As I got older and had a family of my own, I never could turn down my kids petitions for animals:  dogs, cats, and even a goat.  The reason was simple:  I recall how much Susan loved that yellow dog, Hobo.   Even though I never was a pet fanicer, I could not forget the joy and the bond shared between Hobo and Susan.  It was easy to reminisce and put myself in their shoes.

Store Front on Old Route 66
Santa Rosa, NM

It's been awfully hot here.  It's much easier for me to reminisce than to create some new memories today.  Then again, that's not all that bad.  I've got to decide if I will play some more Mungo Jerry or listen to Gershwin.  It's summertime either way.  I can enjoy both and think about quieter less stressful times.