As a kid, I loved the summer...
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| 1971 - Mom hosting a summer party |
Hot! Hot! Hot!
So hot the tar bubbles up between the pebbles on the road; round, shiny black globs. I can smell the tar - acrid gasoline fumes rise up from the road surface. My flip flops stick haphazardly as I walk; sometimes a step is unhindered, other times the foam sole sticks then releases raising fine black strands of gooeyness. Round flat, black globs decorate the bottom of my favourite summer footwear. I scuff over to the lawn hoping the grass will wipe away the sticky tar. It's futile. Now I have flip-flops with green grass clippings stuck to them...
Happy days indeed! Wind in my face bike riding, 5¢ popsicles, 10¢ ice cream cones, Coppertone® suntan lotion (no sunscreen!), big circulating fans swirling in the windows (the only A/C back in the day), family bbq's and a backyard pool made summer an absolute delight.
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| 1959 - our first pool:1ft deep x 10ft diameter; with my older sister and I (white bathing cap) |
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| 1960 - Pool#1 with my younger sister |
We didn't have a heater so a pool freshly filled in June began at 16°C (or less!) and crawled its way to a blistering 23° by mid-August. Those were the days of Fahrenheit, so "Arthur" our pool thermometer actually registered 74. One banner year I recall 'Arthur' made it all the way to 78F. In the early part of the season, while Dad was at work, Mom and I added buckets of hot water to the pool. When Dad came home, he splashed his hand in the pool and announced, "It's warming up nicely!" Mom and I just smiled.
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| 1971 - Mom in pool # 3: 4ft x 15ft |
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| 1972 - Dad hamming it up! |
Those were the days...
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| 1972 - Me on a summer Monday - moaning... |
©2019 April Hoeller
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