It's September. The weather has gotten cooler. The days are getting shorter. The trees are starting to change their colors, signaling they'll soon shed their luscious summer garments and go into a deep winter hibernation. The children are already back in school. And football is back. All these things mean that the magnificent season known as Summer is drawing to a close. I've quoted Shakespeare before and I'll do it again. "Summer's lease hath all too short a date." I always get a little sad when I see it go, because I love it dearly. But when it returns each June, my heart is overwhelmed with joy yet again. "But what about Autumn?" I hear the people say? It's true, I love the Fall as well. Its slight chill on my face while the leaves crunch under my feet. The warmth of a hot drink against my hands whether it be hot chocolate, fresh apple cider, a pumpkin spice latte, they all sooth the soul. Football returns bringing hope and excitement to fans everywhere. Thanksgiving rolls around for great times spent with family and the start of the holidays. As you can see I do love the Fall.
Summer, however, as brought me so much joy and so many memories which is why I eagerly await it's return each year. Usually when things come to an end, it's fun to reflect on the moments and memories they brought. So as we say goodbye to Summer 2017, here are some of my past Summer escapades that have made this season so near and dear to my heart.
I was blessed as a child to have a big yard and two woods on our property. This was also in a time before the internet was prominent and before the existence of smart phones. Actually the cell phones at that time hadn't become popular yet. So how did we entertain ourselves? Those "lazy" summer days were spent racing our bikes through the woods, over mini hills, through the yard, and around the house. We were competitive and felt as if victory was the only option. This led to some spectacular crashes, amazing jumps, and sheer thrill. Other days were spent climbing the hundred or so trees and pretending we were pirates out for treasure or astronauts on a mission to Mars. There were times we snuck onto the nearby golf course in search of forgotten golf balls, tees, and other "treasures". Saturday evenings were spent going to the parks and playing pick-up games with all the other kids out enjoying the weather or going out for dinner and then for a game of mini-golf afterwards.
In the summer of 2007, my good friend Mark Greenwood had invited me out to their family's cabin in Vermillion. For the first time in my life, I went Jetskiing. For a 16 year old, it was one of the greatest thrills of my life. As soon as they let me drive, I took off like a heat seeking missile fired from an F-15. I defined the term "reckless driving" that day as I zipped off wave crest after wave crest. Then I hit one full throttle and shot 4-5 feet in the air with Mark holding on for dear life. For a moment I thought we were going to wipe out Evil Knevil style. To everyone's relief we landed safely and even though I was ready to do that again, I think Mark had second thoughts.
That summer was the first of many to come where Mark, Jeremiah Johnson, and I spent weeks and weekends there. I have so many memories of that place and this past summer may have been my last there. Before I move on, I want to leave one more image in your mind. One summer's eve, instead of hanging around the cabin, I decided to take the Jetski out for a sunset run. If you haven't witnessed a sunset over Lake Erie, I implore you to do so. Anyway, as I was roaring happily over the water and terrifying seagulls, I saw a view that took my breath away. I slowed the jetski down to a crawl, then killed the motor. I let it drift along as I saw a golden sky with a setting sun to the west and to the east was a navy blue sky with the moon rising higher and the stars letting everyone else know that they were there as well. It was two moments, night and day, one coming, one going. And I soaked in every minute.
Another summer memory I treasure is I had just gotten back from vacation and had to mow a lawn. Once I finished, I rode my bike to a nearby park to enjoy the evening. When I got there, a bunch of the Cleveland guys were there playing Ultimate Frisbee. This is a game I love dearly and so of course I jumped right in. They were playing with a bunch of random locals who at one point decided to challenge our skill. If you knew us back then, you knew that Frisbee was our game and we were a force to be reckoned with. One of us put up the challenge to them which was the 14 of them verses the 7 of us. They accepted and what a match that was. We ended up being down most of the game until a turning point on a fluke play. Someone from our team lobbed a low pass that bounced of my heel and ended up in Dan Johnson's hands. We ended up scoring and started a comeback that eventually allowed us to win 9-7. Sure it was a pickup game. There were no crowds cheering, no trophies awarded, nothing to say that this was an incredible feat. But to me it felt like we had won a national championship.
Each summer my family takes a vacation to visit family in either Wisconsin or Pennsylvania. Some of my most cherished memories from Wisconsin include riding my first 4-wheeler at 5 years old, catching my first largemouth bass on my last worm, Grandpa taking me fishing for the first time, my Uncle obtaining extremely large fireworks and then having a second 4th of July celebration shooting them off near the lake, driving a pontoon boat into the center of the lake and jumping off the 17ft scaffolding attached to it, fishing every day, catching large pike, largemouth bass, and panfish, roaming the wide open country land in search of adventure, campfires at dusk by the lake, seeing a full sky of stars in the dead of night, fairs and demolition derbies, reunions, cook-outs, and family.
Pennsylvania: Ice cream from Tropical Treat, wandering Hanover, hanging with old friends, nerf wars, swimming in the mountains, backyard Frisbee, football, volleyball, putt-putt, Hershey Park, Gettysburg, late night fires, food, and fun.
I have so many more memories I want to share, but those will be for another time. One of these days I need to write them all down. And who knows, maybe they'll become an autobiography one day. One can dream. On that note, before I bid you all adieu until the next post, I'll leave you with a list of what summer is to me.
Summer is mint chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone dripping off my fingers, meat sizzling on a grill, sunsets at Lakewood Park, Ultimate Frisbee, 4th of July, fireworks, getting a tan, chilling on the beach, fishing into the night, biking to nowhere in particular, outdoor concerts, hanging with the bros around a fire, the beach, enjoying great food on a patio, jumping or sleeping on a trampoline, juicy watermelon, Mountain Top, shorts and sleeveless shirts, Indians baseball, windows down and moon roof open, sandals and bare feet, riding the waves on a jetski, vacation, sleeping in a hammock, street fairs and food trucks, feeling free and living easy. Good ol' summertime.
