Six weeks of summer break from teaching is about to end. On Monday August 12th I go back to school for three days of orientation. Then we have the kids back in class for two days before the weekend. As you can imagine, the time off flew by. So here’s some of what I was up to.
Despite squirrelly weather with frequent threats of rain I spent most days at East End Pool. Hanging with my fellow adult swim regulars was the usual good time. However we lost one older swimmer who passed away over the winter, one had to be moved to an assisted living facility and another moved to Minnesota to be closer to her daughter and grandkids. Still, there were newer swimmers to meet and the sun and splash of the pool proved to be as enjoyable as ever. My skin got nicely bronzed and I hope to keep this tan until Thanksgiving.
I kept my vow to not wear long pants once, not even jeans and only wore gym shoes on two different occasions. The rest of the time it was shorts, swim shorts, t-shirts, slides and flip flops. It was right out of a song by Jimmy Buffett or Kenny Chesney.
There was plenty of Cubs and White Sox baseball to watch on TV and I found myself giving Netflix a one month free trial. I binge watched all seasons of “Stranger Things” and caught documentaries like the one on the failed Fyre Festival and “Twenty Feet from Stardom” about career back-up singers. I also watched all of Jerry Seinfeld’s new season of “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”, plus his special “Jerry Before Seinfeld.” Next, it was multiple comedy concerts from Sebastian Maniscalco, John Mullaney, Jim Gaffigan and I’m probably going to hell for laughing at the wickedly cruel wit of Anthony Jeselnik. Yow!
Plain and simple I can’t keep Netflix because there are just too many things to watch on that set-up. Netflix keeps me from doing other things like eating, drinking, sleeping and cleaning myself. Put it this way, I already watch too much TV and having Netflix options at my fingertips is like asking R. Kelly to teach Sex Ed to teenage girls.
There were only two movies I saw in theaters. The Beatles never existed comedy “Yesterday” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” I liked both of them but felt Tarantino’s movie dragged a bit. Still, he DID capture the mood and feel of 1969 pop culture in movies, music and TV. Quentin Tarantino makes movies people talk about and debate and that’s a real gift.
Later this week I’m looking to see a couple of late summer films; the Springsteen inspired “Blinded by the Light” and the raunchy “Good Boys.” There are also two upcoming dramas I want to catch when they hit the local screens and both feature comedian Jim Gaffigan. First there’s “American Dreamer” where he plays a bitter ride share driver turned kidnapper. Then there’s this creepy snake handling religion film titled “Them That Follow.” Check out the trailer for that one.
I fell in love with the new country music Super Group comprised of Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby, they’re called “The Highwomen” which is a nod to the “Highwaymen” that featured Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. The Highwomen’s debut album hits stores on September 6th.
‘REDESIGNING WOMEN” IS THEIR FIRST SINGLE BUT I’M EVEN A BIGGER FAN OF “CROWDED TABLE.”
I took care of home chores like water sealing my back stairs, getting the gutters cleaned and having a burned out car tail light fixture replaced. Plus a handyman stripped and re-caulked my bathtub and shower.
Still, I hope to get more things accomplished during next year’s break. Staying away from Netflix will be a help. Between now and the summer of 2020 I want to get into better physical shape. Then again I said the same damn thing at the end of LAST summer so let’s see how that goes. On the subject of breaking bad habits, I got into a new song from country singer Justin Moore that covers that struggle, it’s called “Some Day I Gotta Quit.”
So if I were to rate this summer break, I’d give it the same grade I gave Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, a ‘B-’. There sure is room for improvement and better summers. Stay tuned for that.
SPECIAL NOTE-MY HIATUS:
Our overpaid and underworked members of Congress are in the midst of a recess from doing nothing in Washington D.C. so they can do nothing in their home states. With school starting up again and new students and plans to adjust to, I’m taking a few weeks off from blogging. I’ll be back with a new posting on Monday September 30th..
Until then, you can still see and read my daily thoughts and opines on Facebook.
