While many people think of the first day of summer being around June 20th, I’m going with what the weather experts say. The Meteorological season of summer begins on June 1st and runs through August 31st. Then Fall happens from September 1st through November 30th and so on. In other words, summer IS here!
Like tens of millions of people, thanks to the pandemic, I NEED this season more than ever. Last year not only was my swim season at East End Pool called off but there were no movies to see since all cinemas were shut down. My summer was at a standstill. That bastard virus forced me to stay indoors and away from people for long stretches of time. I was living a solitary and paranoid life like Charlton Heston in “The Omega Man.”
Add to that, all last summer the block I live on was torn up in a funky dusty mess thanks to a project that protects almost one hundred homes from basement flooding. Four houses were torn down and a major dig happened with giant sewer drainage pipes installed, then covered over with a beautiful field of grass. That field is just waiting for neighborhood kids to come and start up games of Wiffle ball, running bases, batting practice and frisbee throws.
The first special mark of every summer for me is June third. As faithful blog readers know, that’s my favorite day in music. “It was the third of June another sleepy dusty delta day” is how Bobbie Gentry’s southern gothic song “Ode to Billy Joe” opens. We’ll never know why Billy Joe Mc Callister jumped off the Tallahatchie bridge; but that haunting song about indifference in a small town is a classic I never get tired of.
Let’s not forget that Neil Diamond’s song “Desiree” also refers to the third of June. Neil sings how he ‘became a man at the hands of a girl almost twice my age.’ That track was released in 1977, I was sixteen, and yeah, I remember thinking more about older women thanks to “Desiree.”
Next up we have the C.W. Mc Call truckers’ classic song “Convoy” which opens with, “Was the dark of the moon on the sixth of June in a Kenworth pullin’ logs, cab-over Pete with a reefer on and a Jimmy haulin’ hogs.” Schlocky song which I’m not posting to spare you the grief, but still a fun date to mark.
June sixth also marks the birthday of the late great radio legend Larry Lujack. My old boss and longtime friend would’ve been eighty-one years old this year. I remember Larry telling me how ‘seventy’ was a tough age to say since it was three syllables. Eighty-one would be the same way and while I miss Ole Uncle Lar very much, I’ve got plenty of good memories with him to think of.
East End Pool’s swim season is set to open on Saturday June 12th and I can’t wait to get back there. The pandemic related protocols the Elmhurst Park District initially planned have been lifted! It appears we’ll have a normal swim season and I look forward to spending time with my ‘summer family.’
I’m in the first week of teaching ESY (Extended School year) and the summer session ends on Friday June 25th. Thanks to carefully saving my earned days off I’m going to be taking half days for the last couple weeks of the summer session. To say our students and staff are impatiently counting down to 6/25 would be a gross understatement. As Clint Black sang, “For my day in the sun, I’ve been working til the sun don’t shine.”
“SUMMER SCHOOL” WAS A FUN LATE 80’S MOVIE AND ALSO WHAT I’M TEACHING UNTIL THE LAST FRIDAY IN JUNE.
My summer plans are simple. Get lots of time in at the pool and watch plenty of White Sox and Cubs baseball. I’ll keep a scorecard on televised games at least twice a week. Add to this, I have an AMC Theaters gift card that’s only been used once. Finally, every summer when my break arrives, I often say I’m going to get in some serious writing and then never do. This year could be different because I’ve outlined several post-pandemic short stories. If I get them written they’ll be posted here in a special section.
I’ve got plenty of regular blogs pre-written. These ones aren’t time sensitive so every Tuesday you can count on a new post as I opine on music, movies and other things on my mind. The bottom line is summer’s here so let’s all get as much out of these coming days as we can.
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