The Real Deal
Posted at 5:55 AM on June 22, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(22 Comments)
You have an opportunity to win tickets to see Pink Martini at the O'Shaugnessy Auditorium in St. Paul tomorrow night.
This one moves fast, so don't delay. We'll close off entries at 1 p.m. today.
Enter the drawing. Obey the rules. And good luck.
Here on the day after the solstice we have arrived at a moist, fragrant, unmistakable feeling of genuine summer. Today for the first time in weeks I didn't bring a light jacket to ward off the early morning chill. I brought a light jacket in case the air conditioning in the office is turned up too high.
That's a watershed moment for me - proof positive that the season has changed.
This transition brings sweet memories flowing back because those childhood summers define our lives. It only takes a few details to complete the journey - some lightning bugs and a glass jar for catching them; a grassy field with enough room to draw out a diamond; a stick, a ball, some friends with an endless afternoon to waste; and a swarm of bees from the nest under home plate to chase me, screaming, down a dusty road towards home.
Give me that and I'll have total summer immersion.
How about you?
Comments (22)
and a gracious good morning to you All. the raven fledglings are screaming out in the woods and learning to soar with their parents. says summer to me - says "hide!" to all the little brown birds in the meadow, as the ravens soar overhead looking for a tasty morsel. everyone here is doing well. ha det!
Sound of the birds waking up, smell of the rain on the air, fans brought down from the attic, flowers galore in the yard, outdoor parties, not having to struggle to get the teenage up for school ... all my favorite things about summer are here!
Have a great day Heartlanders!
This will be a busy summer for me with lots of things to do, but I must remember to do some of those "lazy" summer things and take time to "smell the roses''
I will be out in the garden a lot of the time which is something I like doing. I also will be helping, a little, with caring for my grandchildren and will have to remember to make time to do some fun things with them.
Do you have the Doc Watson song 'The Cuckoo'?
Dear Lord, moist is right. The "breeze" coming in through my open window is actually hot - at seven a.m.! Let's see, now I guess I just need some neighbor kids and bicycles and a mom who doesn't fret when her kids take off on their bikes shortly after breakfast and stay gone just about all day. A trip to the public pool would be nice too.
Sitting barefoot on the steps during the tail end of twilight and waiting for out of town cousins to arrive... that was summer. :-)
Of course, one could write a tome on the elusive elements of summer. There is, however, work to be done.
Happy Monday!
Greetings Heartlanders! Some favorite memories include walking to the nearby pool to spend the afternoon, swinging as high as I could for hours on swingset at home, picking fresh raspberries from garden to plop on my morning cereal, my parents annual corn roast with the bounty of corn from garden, getting up early because I liked to go out and play in the dewy grass alone ...
Sweet memories, thanks everyone. Have a wonderful day and stay cool!
Kickball games at the school, skinned knees from tripping during said kickball games, Mom's brass bell that called all the neighbor kids back from the school for dinner, running through the sprinkler, riding bikes to the lake, the dog smelling like dead fish (we had a dog who frequently took her own walks to the lake and adored finding ways to come back not smelling like "dog"), making "potions" with mud and weeds and water, and rhubarb fresh from the garden with a bowl of sugar to dip it in. That was summer in my corner of S. Minneapolis.
Howdy Folks
Thought I'd pop in for an overdue greeting and atta-boy. Thanks Dale, for doing what you do. Still wish we could 'just turn on the radio' to hear you (here in the hinterlands).
I have some ideas that I am mulling over and hoping for some creative brain power (abundant supply surrounding this 'station').
Our family set up a memorial scholarship in honor of our daughter Laural Capistran Murphy [who died as a result of a car accident on her way home from PSEO at UM Crookston, Sept 06--fund is set through the Nothwest Minnesota Foundation].
We used to throw some big summer shindigs for her birthdays in August, and my husband this spring said, "Let's throw Laural a party and use it as a fund-raiser".
So we are contemplating a 'summer barbeque feed' in the 4-H bldg at the fairgrounds, with entertainment in the adjoining coliseum. {Sun Aug 9th??}
We have some great local talent; piano players, guitar pickers, cloggers!, and whatnot, but I keep daydreaming about Prairie Home Companion being hosted in the Ada Grandstands!
So, help us dream. . .
Happy day,
Sheila
Dale, have you heard R.E.M.'s Cuyahoga song? It's on the album "Life's Rich Pageant", I think. It's called... "Cuyahoga". And it's lovely :)
Sheila - what a wonderful idea! i'm sure you will have a big crowd and will enrich the scholarship funds. we began a scholarship in honor of a dear friend that died five years ago of breast cancer. the scholarship will not only keep Laural's memory alive in the minds of those who knew her, but she will be known by young people who benefit (and who may have never known her). and planning the fundraiser, and watching the successful day will just make you feel even closer to Laural. good on all sides.
Dale - how about "We're Having a Party" by Sam Cooke please?
Dale & Mike - I know you've said the library is a little light on Gordon Lightfoot, but it seems you've played 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' which is on his album 'Summertime Dream.' The title song might fit nicely with today's theme.
Thank you for the Favorite spring by Tom Paxton.
I think I like the baseball song by Neil (and Leandra) even better. Being an orphan These family song really mist me up.
I work outdoors in the summer, so I have to have some tolerance for heat. One strategy is to bring a sprinkler I can attach if I have access to a garden hose & give myself a quick sprinkle. The other thing that helps is to go someplace to get ice cream. I often drink my lunch at Snuffy's on Cleveland. I haven't been to Snuffy's yet this year, since it's been atypically chilly most days. Today may be the day, though.
Isn't there a Tom Waits song called "Ice Cream Man"?
What means summer? Three words:
Fresh
Local
Strawberries
Memories of summer – going to my grandparents’ house to mow their lawn. Mowing our larger lawn at home. Riding my bike to the Y to swim in the pool in the afternoon – I’d take a quarter with me for a bottle of pop and a candy bar – one was a dime, the other 15 cents, I forget which (this was just the early 1970s). Playing backyard baseball with the neighbor boys. Sailing in our little sailboat with Dad. Stargazing at night. I hope my daughters have good memories too.
box hockey, 4 square and chess at the warming house/ summer program at the elementary school down the street, baseball with kids of a 10 year age spread that came to a total of 7 or 8 players. your team furnishes a catcher and usually the other tem had like a first baseman, shortstop and left fielder and pitcher. unless a lefty was up , then you go with first second right field and pitcher. hair would bleach blond from sweat and 90 degrees for june july and august.
walks on the river banks for excursions with the guys. life was good in the 60's. hermans hermits, jan and dean, per\ter and gordon, and of course the beach boys and bob dylan
Minnesota summer immersion - the chooka chook of sprinklers, eating onions directly from dad's garden, swinging into the sky forever, endless reading in the cool front living room, and the outdoor movie at the park.
How wonderful to have RH streaming on-line. Even though I am spending the summer in Texas with the Annabelle and herfamil
Aargh...sorry about that. Typing on a new keyboard usually throws me off! Have to add that to my Texas summer immersion experiences!!
with Annabelle and her family I am connected to my link! There!! Good hearing from everyone! Welcome summer.
I'm way late this morning! Network issues keeping me from internet, so sad!
Summer memories: sitting in trees reading, selling lemonade, sailing with Dad, biking everywhere all the time, star gazing with Dad, the smell of chlorine and rubber swim caps and flip flops, toasted marshmallows after grilling, skeeter bites and calamine lotion, the smell of Coppertone, the thrill of the only fireworks of the year!
Thanks for opening the memory gates Dale! What fun!
i hate summer, it's too hot. give me fall, spring, and winter, and keep summer!
but i did enjoy the soltice - peter mayer performed during the service at my church yesterday! that's how you know you picked a good church - when the likes of peter mayer are your musicians. :)
Kirby,
I hope you've been able to create your own family. I'm not entirely sure what to say, but hope you're doing well.
Why is it sad memories make us sad, but good memories make us sad and wistful too?
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