Summer

I have been thinking a lot about the summers of my childhood.  And, a variety of memories have surfaced, each poignant and delightful, each bittersweet in its own way.  I remember...The Tuscumbia Picnic.  It wasn't actually a picnic...it was more like a, Lees Summit Downtown Days. . .a carnival came to down replete with rides and sideshows. . .the PTA hosted a delicious chicken dinner....there was a dance...square dancing...a beer garden that parents strongly discouraged...there were swimming lessons at the Lake of the Ozarks...my mom's garden...I think we ate wilted lettuce every night for at least two months...my Aunt Betty who came to visit in late June and stayed until August...the 56 Chevys...the bookmobile...there were nights swimming at the Eldon Country Club...our annual visit to Iowa to pick up Grandma Wright who had gone for a visit to Aunt Barbara's and stayed for three weeks, or more...my brothers' birthdays...both born in the summer...vacations with the Smiths to San Diego, Wyoming and Colorado.  Who could forget camping in the wilds of the Snake River during August when the temperatures dipped into the 40s?  My dad, having a "bellywasher" with Phil Smith, on the banks of the Snake....we picked blackberries with my grandmothers Tilly and Lizzie.  My brothers and cousin Ron collected minnows at Gum Creeek while I...read...ah, the books...Ah.  It was a simpler time.  I hope that my children's memories of summer are as rich...